There's been a death in spring training

[Skywatcher]

http://www.canada.com/stcatharines/story.asp?id=E007680F-6DC0-4BCD-93A4-9490DD8E1033
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died Monday morning, less than 24 hours after complaining of dizziness during a workout.

Team officials said Bechler was declared dead at 10:10 a.m. EST. The 23-year-old pitcher spent the night in the intensive care unit at Northridge Medical Center. He was pale and feeling lightheaded Sunday while completing his final conditioning run on a back field at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, and he was taken from the complex by ambulance.

The initial diagnosis was heat exhaustion and dehydration, but Bechler’s condition worsened after he arrived at the hospital.

“They told us about the situation, and everybody was in shock,” Orioles pitcher Rodrigo Lopez said. “It’s hard to think that you saw him yesterday. After they told us, you don’t know how to react. He’s part of the family, part of the team. It’s sad.”

The players were updated on Bechler’s condition during a clubhouse meeting before taking the field for Monday’s workout. They were summoned inside at 10:30 a.m. and told of his death.

What’s worse is that his wife is at least seven months pregnant. RIP, Steve, and my condolences to your family.

[stellar7]

How very sad. 23 years old. He had his whole life in front of him.

My sincere sympathy to his family and friends.

What a loss.

[Coldfire]

Read it on CNN earlier on. God, what a tragedy. 23… and almost a father. So sad.

[White_Lightning]

Anyone have any info on cause of death? All that was available this morning was that AP story, which seems to imply that it wasn’t as simple as it looked. The story at espn.com is a little more thorough:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died Monday, less than 24 hours after complaining of dizziness during a spring training workout.

Team officials said the 23-year-old prospect was pronounced dead at Northridge Medical Center, where he had been in intensive care overnight. His wife, Kiley, due to deliver the couple’s first child in April, was at his bedside.

Orioles team doctor William Goldiner said Monday that Bechler appeared to have died of multiple-organ failure due to heatstroke.

Goldiner, who was not in camp, said Bechler had taken part in activities over the weekend that were “as normal as any of the other pitchers,” adding that Bechler was examined before the start of camp and “the physician who examined him felt he was fit to play.”

A spokesman for the Broward County medical examiner’s office said an autopsy will be performed and should be completed by Tuesday afternoon. A cause of death could be determined by Tuesday afternoon if there are no tests pending, such as a toxicology report.

So, again, it sounds like they’re attributing it to heat and dehydration, but I’ve never heard of a problem like that taking off and getting that much worse after hospitalization.

I’ve got nothing but sympathy for Bechler. I just hope this doesn’t turn into another training scandal. From all indications at this point it looks like this guy was in fine shape and wasn’t even worked that hard. I sure do feel for his wife and the rest of his family. And his teammates.

[Blunt]

According to the current version of the ESPN story, Belcher may have been taking a supplement containing ephidrine. I hope this didn’t contribute to his death, but it is possible.

Overall, I also really hope this doesn’t turn into a scandal too. It does look like this could have happened to anyone with a physically demanding job, not just necessarily a pro athlete.

[Flamsterette_X]

My first thought up on noticing the thread title: “Again?” Then, as I read the thread… I feel nothing but sympathy for Bechler’s wife, the rest of his family, and teammates. Hopefully, this doesn’t turn into a scandal, either.

F_X

[JeffB]

According to reports I’ve heard, the temperature was only 81 degrees, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that something else was a factor.

[White_Lightning]

And it wasn’t a particularly demanding workout, and they were barely halfway through, and nobody else was feeling ill effects at all. Based on the AP story I was guessing some strange genetic thing or an irregular heartbeat or something like that, but he evidently passed his physical just fine, and then the ESPN story reported that team doctors are still attributing it to the heat. So far it just doesn’t seem to add up.

[White_Lightning]

ESPN story, Tuesday Feb 18th. Some new developments; looks like Bechler had a bottle of ephedrine (diet pills) in his locker, which teammates initially hid from the authorities. Suddenly Bechler has been “battling” his weight problem for years (he was 6’2" 239), and Hargrove characterized his conditioning as “not good.”

Evidently ephedrine, a popular diet supplement, has been linked to heat stroke and heat exhaustion, and has been banned by the NFL and the NCAA for just that reason.

My impression: MLB’s concerned that it’ll come under fire for not having banned the supplement that may have led to Bechler’s death, and are backpedaling to try to make it look like the kid was out of shape. I could be wrong. But at any rate it looks like the scandal here is going to fall on MLB’s substance policy, not its training practices.