Troubled former MLB pitcher Brad Halsey was found dead at the base of a cliff on Halloween, and people are still unsure whether his death was suicide or accidental. One thing we know for certain is that Halsey had multiple issues with drugs and likely had mental problems.
USA Today’s Josh Peter did a profile on Halsey and detailed some of the battles the former pitcher faced.
Here are some of the big revelations:
A few months earlier, according to two men who spent time with the former pitcher in the last months of his life, Halsey told them he had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The men also said Halsey made an outrageous statement, claiming he was on cocaine and other drugs when he gave up Bonds’ historic home run and had spent much of the $1 million he made during his baseball career on drugs.
While pitching for the Oakland A’s, Halsey allowed Barry Bonds’ 714th career home run, which tied the slugger with Babe Ruth for second all time. If you believe that claim made by Halsey, it would put him in the same category as Dock Ellis, who claimed he had LSD in his system when he threw a no-hitter. Obviously the two had different success though following their drug use.
In addition to the cocaine, Halsey supposedly had problems with painkillers, Adderall, and said something from the fourth dimension sucked out his talent. He was known for hallucinating, too.
Here was another story Halsey told his former friend and teammate, Jared Koutnik:
Koutnik said Halsey later told him the problems started after he was released by the A’s. Halsey said he started hearing voices of aliens and that on eBay he sold the national championship ring he won at Texas and used the money to fly overseas to talk to someone about aliens, according to Koutnik.
Koutnik also said Halsey had stopped showering regularly and was letting his hair and fingernails grow.
Halsey was 33 when he died. He went 14-19 with a 4.74 ERA during his three-year MLB career.
H/T For the Win
