Sean Burroughs, ex-MLB first-round pick and LLWS star, dies at 43 – NBC 7 San Diego

Sean Burroughs, a former first-round MLB draft decide and two-time Little League World Sequence champion with Lengthy Seaside (Calif.), died whereas teaching his son’s Little League recreation on Thursday, Little League Worldwide introduced Friday. He was 43.

A explanation for loss of life was not instantly made obtainable.

“I’ve had the privilege of teaching with Sean for the previous two years and he all the time got here with a enjoyable and pleasant perspective the children had been drawn to, a wealth of baseball information that might get any child out of a batting rut and humility price emulating,” Lengthy Seaside Little League president Doug Wittman stated in a press release. “To say it is a large loss is an understatement.”

Sean Burroughs, the son of 1974 AL MVP Jeff Burroughs, first starred on the Little League World Sequence stage. He helped Lengthy Seaside develop into the primary U.S. league to win consecutive LLWS titles in 1992 and 1993. Throughout Lengthy Seaside’s 1993 title run, Burroughs made LLWS historical past as the primary American participant to throw back-to-back no-hitters, and he posted a .600 batting common on the plate as effectively.

The San Diego Padres chosen Burroughs out of Woodrow Wilson Excessive Faculty (Lengthy Seaside, Calif.) with the ninth general decide within the 1998 MLB Draft. The third baseman first reached the bigs in 2002, when he hit a walk-off single within the first regular-season recreation ever performed at San Diego’s Petco Park. Burroughs would spend 4 seasons with the Padres, hitting .282/.340/.360 over 432 video games.

“We mourn the passing of former Padres third baseman Sean Burroughs,” the Padres said in a post on X, previously generally known as Twitter. “Our ideas and prayers are together with his household throughout this very tough time.”

Burroughs went on to play seven complete seasons within the majors, suiting up for the Padres (2002-05), Tampa Bay Rays (2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2011) and Minnesota Twins (2012). Burroughs, who additionally frolicked within the Seattle Mariners (2007) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) organizations, was out of baseball for 4 years whereas battling substance abuse points that “took away from my aspirations and my goals,” he advised the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2012.

He made 528 MLB appearances, hitting .278/.335/.355 with 12 house runs and 143 RBIs. Burroughs was additionally a part of Crew USA’s gold medal-winning squad within the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to listen to of the tragic passing of Sean,” USA Baseball government director/CEO Paul Seiler stated in a press release. “Sean was part of considered one of our most beloved groups, and he represented our nation on and off the sector in a first-class method. Our ideas and prayers are with the Burroughs household throughout this time.”

The Related Press contributed to this story.