Community gathers to remember Long Beach baseball icon Sean Burroughs

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The Long Beach baseball community gathered Saturday to mourn Sean Burroughs, the former big leaguer and Little League hero who died Thursday at the age of 43.

"I thought he was the nicest dad I could have. He has been my coach for two years, and I love him so much," Burroughs' son Knox said of his father.

It was a touching moment at an emotional candlelight vigil on the very field that made his father famous.

Burroughs died shortly after dropping off his son at the baseball field. His mother, Debbie, told the Southern California News Group that the cause of death was cardiac arrest.

"It's like you lose one of your own," Long Beach Little League President Doug Wittman said. "I think that's just the feeling between everyone right now - huge void."

Burroughs starred in the Little League World Series playing for Long Beach and won titles in 1992 and 1993. He won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. in 2000 on a team managed by Tommy Lasorda. He was also selected in the first round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. He played more than 500 games in the big leagues.

Friends say he was humble about his list of accomplishments.

"Every time you saw him, he made you feel like you were the most important person he saw that day," one person said at the vigil.

Hundreds showed up to honor him - a show of support his grieving family embraced.

"It's a really beautiful thing that this community put this together so quickly because it's truly a testament of how much he is loved and how he touched everyone's lives," said Burroughs' sister, Shayla.

Although most of the world knew Burroughs for his accolades on the field, friends and fellow parents knew him for his most important position: a father.

"He wanted to be there for his son," said Candice Bierbrodt, whose son was coached by Burroughs. "And yes, all these amazing stories about his baseball life, but most importantly he was there for his son, Knox."