Sean Burroughs, the son of Jeff Burroughs, the 1974 AL MVP, also won a gold medal with Team USA.
Sean Burroughs, a former first-round MLB draft selection and two-time Little League World Series winner from Long Beach (Calif.), died while coaching his son’s Little League game on Thursday, Little League International confirmed Friday. He was 43.
A cause of death was not immediately available.
“I have had the privilege of coaching with Sean Burroughs for the past two years, and he always came with a fun and friendly attitude that the kids were drawn to, a wealth of baseball knowledge that could get any kid out of a batting rut, and humility worth emulating,” Long Beach Little League president Doug Wittman said in a statement. “To say this is a huge loss is an understatement.”
Sean Burroughs, the son of 1974 AL MVP Jeff Burroughs, debuted on the Little League World Series stage. He helped Long Beach become the first league in the United States to win consecutive LLWS championships in 1992 and 1993. During Long Beach’s 1993 championship run, Burroughs became the first American player to throw back-to-back no-hitters, and he also had a.600 batting average.
Sean Burroughs was taken ninth overall in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Diego Padres from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. The third baseman made his major league debut in 2002, hitting a walk-off single in the inaugural regular-season game at San Diego’s Petco Park.
Sean Burroughs spent four seasons with the Padres, hitting.282/.340/.360 in 432 games.
“We mourn the passing of former Padres third baseman Sean Burroughs,” the Padres said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this very difficult time.”
Sean Burroughs spent seven seasons in the majors, playing for the Padres (2002–05), Tampa Bay Rays (2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2011), and Minnesota Twins (2012). Burroughs, who also played for the Seattle Mariners (2007) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2013), was out of baseball for four years due to drug misuse concerns, which “took away from my aspirations and dreams,” he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2012.
In 528 MLB appearances, he batted.278/.335/.355 with 12 home runs and 143 RBI. Burroughs was also a member of Team USA’s gold medal-wwinning squad at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“We at USA Baseball are heartbroken to learn of Sean’s tragic death,” USA Baseball executive director/CEO Paul Seiler said in a statement. “Sean was a member of one of our favorite teams, and he represented our nation admirably both on and off the field. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Burroughs family at this time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
