Ex-MLBer Burroughs died of fentanyl intoxication

ESPN

Jul 11, 2024, 09:59 AM ET

Former major leaguer Sean Burroughs suffered fentanyl intoxication when he died in the parking lot at a Long Beach, California, baseball field in May, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.

The medical examiner released its findings into Burroughs’ death this week and ruled it as an accident.

Burroughs died May 9 at the age of 43. He was found unconscious next to his car at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach after dropping off his son, Knox, for a Little League game, Long Beach Little League president Doug Wittman said at the time. Wittman said CPR was performed on Burroughs in hopes of reviving him but that he remained unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

A two-time winner of the Little League World Series and a 2000 Olympic gold medalist, Burroughs was drafted in the first round by the San Diego Padres in 1998. The third baseman made his major league debut in April 2002 and recorded the first walk-off hit for the Padres in Petco Park history in 2004. He was out of baseball in 2007 before returning to play from 2011 to 2012.

Burroughs had told ESPN in a June 2011 interview that he was a substance abuser before vowing to turn his life around.

He also played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins in a career that spanned 528 games.