Asphyxiation Ruled Out for Cause as Death for Ex-MLB Player Brett Gardner’s Son

Asphyxiation has been ruled out as the cause of death for the 14-year-old son of former pro baseball player Brett Gardner.

Gardner reported the loss of his youngest son over the weekend. The family said that Miller had come down with some unidentified sickness that also befell several other family members on vacation.

The family did not identify their vacation location, but authorities in Costa Rica have confirmed that the family had vacationed there. And authorities there have ruled out their former initial finding of “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”

Officials now say that the young man had no obstructions to his airways, CNN reported.

Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Police officer Juan Pablo Alvarado told the media that the initial speculation was offered because the boy’s body was found amid vomit. Alvarado added that his department is now waiting for toxicology reports to determine if food poisoning is the cause of death.

The Gardner family said in a statement that Miller “left us far too soon after falling ill along with several other family members while on vacation.”

“Miller was a beloved son and brother and we cannot yet comprehend our life without his infectious smile,” Brett and Jessica Gardner said of Miller. “He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family, and his friends. He lived life to the fullest every single day,” they wrote.

Gardner was drafted by the Yankees in the third round of the 2005 MLB Draft and stayed with the team for his entire 14-year career. He was a member of the Yankees’ World Series-winning 2009 team and played in the 2015 All-Star Game. Yahoo Sports reported that he retired at the end of the 2021 season.

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