Matt Pobereyko, a long-time minor league pitcher, died on Friday near Chicago, his family announced on Monday. Pobereyko was 31 years old.
Pobereyko passed out unexpectedly in his home on Friday, according to his brother, Daniel, before being discovered by his girlfriend.
During the offseason of the Mexican Pacific Winter League, the Hammond, Indiana native resided in Warrenville, a western Chicago suburb.
The DuPage County Coroner’s Office said the death was “still pending investigation” and that it could take nearly eight weeks to determine a formal cause of death.
His current team, Saraperos de Saltillo, said in a statement that the pitcher passed away from a heart attack on Saturday.
Daniel Pobereyko claimed that his parents, who had visited him earlier in the week, and the rest of the family were all shocked by his brother’s passing.
“He just dropped and that’s all we know,” Daniel Pobereyko said. “We don’t know. Nothing is outstanding on the autopsy. But from what I understand, he would have gotten a clean bill of health if he had a pulse.”
After playing at Kentucky Wesleyan, Matt Pobereyko became a professional in 2016.
The previous four years of his career have mainly been spent in independent and Mexican leagues, while he had some time in the minor leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, and Miami Marlins, reaching Triple-A for the Mets in 2018.
His old team, Algodoneros de Guasave, plays at Kuroda Park in Guasave, and Liga Mexicana del Pacifico tweeted a picture from there on Sunday. At the pitcher’s mound, the club had laid a wreath and the number 56 in chalk.
In 70 1/3 innings pitched with Algodoneros de Guasave this past winter, he struck out 43 batters. The Sioux City Explorers were his most recent American team.
The memorial included a handwritten message: “Thanks for giving so much joy.”
