Sean Burroughs: Cause of death for former MLB and baseball star revealed

Former MLS and San Diego Padres ace Sean Burroughs died back in May of this year. Recently, his cause of death has been revealed - the gold medal winning Olympian died as a result of a fentanyl overdose.

According to Los Angeles County Coroner, his death was ruled as an accidental overdose. He died at the age of 43 - he was found in a car park in Long Beach, California and was pronounced dead at the scene. Fentanyl is an addictive, not to mention potent substance: it contributed to the deaths of 73,838 US citizens in 2022 [via Statista].

He had planned to attend his son’s little league Baseball game - he was a coach for his son’s team. Staff began searching for him when he had not turned up on time, which is when they found him in the car park. He had previously struggled with addiction and substance abuse.

Burroughs began his professional career in baseball with the San Diego Padres back in 2002. He stayed with them until 2005 - following this, he had stints with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Minnesota Twins. Outside of this, he also won a gold medal for the USA in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, scored a total of 12 home runs and became the first American-born pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters .

He also played as a extra in several major Hollywood productions. Perhaps the most notable of these was Terminator 2: Judgement Day, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Patrick. Additionally, he was an extra in Knots Landing and Saved By The Bell.

When Burroughs died back in May, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt said: “Condolences to the Burroughs family on Sean's tragic passing. A former Padre, and just a really sad thing. Our hearts, for the entire organization, are with the family.”