Ex-MLB player and Olympic champion Burroughs dead at 43

Sean Burroughs, a twotime Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, has died. He was 43.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s online records said Burroughs died Thursday, with the cause of death deferred.

USA Today, citing unnamed sources, reported Burroughs died at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach, where he grew up.

The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the park shortly after 5 p.m. on a report of a person in full cardiac arrest in the parking lot. “We did all of our lifesaving measures, but we weren’t successful,” public information officer Brian Fisk said Friday, adding that the person was declared dead at the scene.

Burroughs was a standout as a pitcher in the Little League World Series for the Long Beach team, which became the first U.S. squad to win consecutive titles. They won the 1992 championship after the Philippines, their opponent in the title round, had to forfeit for using overaged players.

He pitched consecutive no-hitters in the 1993 LLWS — with a then-record 16 strikeouts — and his team won the title over Panama, 3-2.

Burroughs won a gold medal with the U.S. baseball team coached by Tommy Lasorda at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Burroughs’ father, Jeff, was a three-time All-Star and the 1974 American League MVP with the Texas Rangers.

Sean Burroughs was a career .278 hitter, with 12 home runs and 143 RBIs with San Diego, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Minnesota. He appeared as an extra in TV shows “Knots Landing” and “Saved by the Bell,” as well as the film “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”