Former MLB player and 1st round pick Sean Burroughs collapsed and died on Thursday night while coaching his son’s Little League game, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
He was 44 years old.
Former MLB Infielder Sean Burroughs, the former first-round draft pick who played parts of seven MLB seasons, collapsed and died Thursday while coaching his son's Little League team. He was just 44.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 10, 2024
Burroughs became the ninth overall selection of the San Diego Padres in the 1998 MLB draft. Burroughs helped Team USA win Olympic gold in 2000. His exploits on the MLB diamond fell short of the lofty expectations San Diego held for him.
Burroughs’ best season came as a 22-year-old in 2003 when he hit .286 with seven home runs and 58 RBI in 146 games.
Sean Burroughs #37 of the Minnesota Twins was in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on April 19, 2012, in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Twins 7-6. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
However, Burroughs struggled to find consistency in his baseball life due in large part to difficulties in his personal life. The slugger missed the 2009-2010 seasons as he battled substance abuse and an out-of-control lifestyle.
“And by the time Burroughs was 29, he was out of baseball, checking in and out of the cheapest motels he could find, wandering the streets of Las Vegas at all hours, and abusing every substance he could ingest,” ESPN wrote of Burroughs in 2011. “He says he was living a “Leaving Las Vegas” existence, a reference to the Oscar-winning and thoroughly depressing Nicolas Cage movie about a man who commits lengthy suicide via alcohol abuse.
“Burroughs moved to Las Vegas and into a house that was party central. Each year, he partied more. He missed a Christmas with his family, as well as weddings. He didn’t return phone calls for months.”
Sean Burroughs #11 and Xavier Nady #22 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrate after defeating the San Francisco Giants and clinching the National League West division title at Chase Field on September 23, 2011, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Despite sinking into severe substance abuse, Burroughs would rise out of those depths and resume his MLB career at the age of 30.
“It’s incredible I’m where I’m at,” Burroughs told ESPN. “People are lucky to even have me alive, forget to see me play baseball and smiling every day. My worst day now is better than my best day then.”
In all, Burroughs played 7 seasons for 4 teams. He had a.278 batting average with 463 hits, 12 home runs, 143 runs batted in, and 187 runs scored.
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