Garret Anderson died at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., last week on Thursday at the age of 53. The death came as a surprise due to his young age and no public reports about him struggling with his health.
So what happened that led to Anderson’s death? The California Post received a report from the Orange County Sheriff Coroner’s Office stating that Anderson died due to acute necrotizing pancreatitis. According to a definition from Cleveland Clinic, necrotizing pancreatitis is a complication of acute pancreatitis in which part of your pancreas dies. The leading cause of this issue is gallstone disease, and the second leading cause is alcohol abuse.
Anderson’s wife Teresa had previously told an ESPN reporter she believed her late husband died due to a heart attack, but the coroner’s report indicates otherwise.
Anderson’s death was deemed to be due to natural causes.
Anderson was a fourth-round pick by the Angels in 1990. He made his Major-League debut in 1994, though 1995 was his first full season in the bigs. He made an immediate impact by batting .321 as a rookie, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Anderson became a cornerstone for the Angels. He batted .293 with 287 home runs during his career, and made the All-Star team in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He led the AL in doubles in both 2002 and 2003, and won the Silver Slugger award in both seasons.
Anderson finished fourth in AL MVP voting in 2002, the same year he helped the Angels win their first and only World Series ever, by slugging a tie-breaking 3-run double in Game 7 against the San Francisco Giants. Anderson is the Angels’ franchise leader in games played (2,013), hits (2,368), RBIs (1,292), doubles (489), total bases (3,743), extra-base hits (796) and grand slams (eight).
