Cause of death of former Major League Baseball player announced

Sean Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series winner who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to have a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, died of fentanyl poisoning, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

His death on May 9 near his car at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach, Calif., was an accident, according to online records released this week. Burroughs was 43 years old.

The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the park after a person suffered a cardiac arrest in the parking lot. “We attempted all life-saving measures, but we were unsuccessful,” spokesman Brian Fisk said at the time, adding that the person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Burroughs grew up in Long Beach and coached in the city’s Little League program.

He was a standout pitcher in the Little League World Series for the Long Beach team that became the first U.S. team to win consecutive titles. They won the championship in 1992 after the Philippines, their opponent in the title round, had to forfeit because of the use of over-aged players.

Burroughs threw two consecutive no-hitters at the 1993 LLWS – with a then-record 16 strikeouts – and his team won the title against Panama 3-2.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, he won a gold medal with the US baseball team.

Burroughs had a career batting average of .278 with 12 home runs and 143 RBIs with the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Minnesota.