Former major league infielder Sean Burroughs has tragically passed away at the young age of 43.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported that Burroughs collapsed while coaching his son’s little league game.
Sean Burroughs was the son of former No. 1 overall draft pick, two-time All-Star, and 1974 American League MVP Jeff Burroughs.
Baseball was always in Sean’s DNA, as he starred on the mound and at the plate while leading his Long Beach team to back-to-back Little League World Series victories.
His talent caught the attention of the San Diego Padres, who selected him with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 draft. Baseball America consistently ranked him among the sport’s top-100 prospects in the following four years, including top-10 rankings from 2000-02.
Burroughs also represented the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a Gold Medal.
Burroughs made his MLB debut as the Padres’ third baseman on April 2, 2002, collecting two hits in his first game. Despite initial struggles, he bounced back in September after a Triple-A assignment, hitting .377/.433/.410 in 67 plate appearances.
He was the Padres’ regular third baseman in 2003-04, batting a combined .292/.350/.384 in 1,142 trips to the plate. However, he struggled again in 2005 and was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the offseason.
After appearing in only eight games for the Rays and 37 with their Triple-A affiliate, Burroughs found himself out of baseball entirely for several years.
He candidly spoke about his subsequent battle with drug addiction and alcoholism at the time, in an interview with ESPN’s Jim Caple the harrowing experience of living in cheap Las Vegas motels, eating out of trash cans, and abusing various drugs.
Despite hitting rock bottom, Burroughs’ baseball career had a surprise second act. He cleaned up his life and got a second chance from the late Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers, who had originally drafted him with the Padres.
Burroughs played in 78 games with the 2011 Diamondbacks and later appeared in ten games with the Minnesota Twins. After his final MLB game, Burroughs continued playing in the independent Atlantic League, the Venezuelan league, and the Mexican league from 2014-17.
Burroughs’ MLB career spanned 528 games, with a batting line of .278/.335/.355.
Despite his modest performance, he will be remembered as a remarkable talent who achieved more accolades than most players before even reaching the major leagues.