LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, died of fentanyl intoxication, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office.
His death on May 9 near his car at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach was accidental, according to online records released this week. Burroughs was 43. He had dropped of his 6-year-old son Knox at a game before his death.
The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the park on a report of a person in full cardiac arrest in the parking lot. “We did all of our lifesaving measures, but we weren’t successful,” public information officer Brian Fisk said at the time, adding that the person was pronounced dead at the scene.
Burroughs grew up in Long Beach and coached in the city’s Little League program.
Burroughs was one of the most decorated amateur baseball players in history.
The son of 1974 American League Most Valuable Player Jeff Burroughs was a standout as a pitcher in the Little League World Series for the Long Beach team, which became the first U.S. squad to win consecutive titles. They won the 1992 championship after the Philippines, their opponent in the title round, had to forfeit for using overaged players.
Burroughs pitched consecutive no-hitters in the 1993 LLWS — with a then-record 16 strikeouts — and his team won the title over Panama, 3-2.
He continued to star at Long Beach Wilson High and was drafted ninth overall by the San Diego Padres in 1998. He won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the USA Baseball National Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and made his major league debut with the Padres in 2002.
Burroughs was a career .278 hitter, with 12 home runs and 143 RBIs with the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Minnesota.
Burroughs hit .282 but had just 11 home runs in four seasons as the Padres starting third baseman before being traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006. He hit just .190 in eight games for Tampa Bay before being released.
He played four games with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in 2007 before leaving baseball.
He told ESPN he struggled with drugs and alcohol in his final seasons.
After living in Las Vegas for three years, Burroughs got clean and made a return to the major leagues. He appeared in 78 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 and 10 games with the Minnesota Twins in 2012. He played 53 games for the Dodgers Double-A affiliate in Chattanooga in 2013 and finished his career playing in the independent Atlantic League from 2014-17.
Reporter Kyle Glaser contributed to this report for the Southern California News Group.
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