Former MLB Player, Little League World Series Phenom, And Son Of Texas Rangers MVP, Dead At 43

Former Major League infielder Sean Burroughs, the son of former Texas Rangers All-Star Jeff Burroughs, collapsed on May 9.

Jun. 1, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Sean Burroughs against the Florida / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Former Major League infielder Sean Burroughs, the son of the Texas Rangers' first league MVP Jeff Burroughs, has died.

Sean Burroughs collapsed on May 9 and died from cardiac arrest, his mother Debbie told the Southern California News Group.

Burroughs won consecutive Little League World Series championships on a Long Beach, Calif., team coached by his father. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Team U.S.A. in 2000.

Burroughs played in 528 MLB games, batting .278 with 12 home runs and 143 RBI. He was No. 9 overall pick by the San Diego Padres in the 1998 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 2002 but was out of the game from 2008-2010 after struggling with substance abuse issues.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this message to inform you that yesterday afternoon one of our Coaches, Sean Burroughs, tragically passed away,” Long Beach Little League president Doug Wittman wrote in a social media post. "He always came with a fun and 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. To say this is a huge loss is an understatement.”

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Burroughs was a star pitcher on the first U.S. Little League team to win consecutive titles in 1992 and 1993. The 1992 title was won after the Philippines team was forced to forfeit for using overaged players. During the 1993 LLWS, Burroughs pitched consecutive no-hitters, leading Long Beach over Panama 3-2 for the title.

“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 release. “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.”

Jeff Burroughs was a three-time All-Star and won the 1974 AL MVP with the Rangers after batting .301 with 25 home runs, and a career-high 118 RBI. He also received MVP votes with the Atlanta Braves in 1977 and 1978. He retired after the 1985 season.

Sean Burroughs was out of baseball for four years while struggling with substance abuse issues that “took away from my aspirations and my dreams,” he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2012.

Burroughs signed a minor league contract with Arizona in 2010 and joined the Diamondbacks in 2011, batting .261. He signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins after the 2011 season but was released in the spring. He played for several independent minor league teams from 2013 to 2017.

“I was hanging out with some bad people and had done some bad things,” Burroughs told ESPN in 2011. “I was kind of like a garbage can. Whatever I had or needed, I would find and take it. I would just try and fill myself with as much substances as I could, legally or illegally.”

The Letterman YouTube channel uploaded Sean Burroughs' appearance. Even at 12 years old, he had a quick wit. pic.twitter.com/1CKJlmY9N8

— Michael from SD (@MichaelUCSD) May 11, 2024

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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