Burroughs, Little League World Series champ, is dead
LOS ANGELES — 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, has died. He was 43.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s online records said Burroughs died May 9, with the cause of death deferred.
USA Today, citing unnamed sources, reported Burroughs died at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach, where he grew up.
The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the park shortly after 5 p.m. 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 Friday, adding that the person was declared
dead at the scene.
“It is with heavy heart that I am writing this message to inform you that yesterday afternoon one of our Coaches, Sean Burroughs, tragically passed away,” Doug Wittman, president of Long Beach Little League, wrote in a statement posted on social media Friday.
Wittman coached with Burroughs for the last two years.
“He always came with a fun & friendly attitude the kids were drawn to, a wealth of baseball knowledge that could get any kid out of a batting rut and humility worth emulating,” the statement said. “To say this is a huge loss is an understatement.”
Burroughs was a standout as a pitcher in the Little League World Series for the Long Beach team, which became the first US 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.
He pitched consecutive no-hitters in the 1993 LLWS — with a then-record 16 strikeouts — and his team won the title over Panama, 3-2.
Burroughs won a gold medal with the US baseball team coached by Tommy Lasorda at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to hear of the tragic passing of Sean,” USA Baseball executive director and CEO Paul Seiler said in a statement. “Sean was a part of one of our most beloved teams, and he represented our country on and off the field in a first-class manner.”
Burroughs’ father, Jeff, was a three-time All-Star and the 1974 American League MVP with the Texas Rangers. He coached his son in those Little League World Series appearances. Sean was born in Atlanta when his father played for the Braves.
Sean Burroughs committed to play baseball at the University of Southern California, but the San Diego Padres selected him with the ninth pick in the first round of the 1998 MLB draft and he signed with them instead.
He was a career .278 hitter, with 12 home runs and 143 RBIs with the Padres, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Minnesota.
He was named most valuable player of the 2002 AllStar Futures Game.
Burroughs broke into the majors as a third baseman in April 2002 with the Padres. He hit a game-winning single in the first game played at San Diego’s Petco Park that year.