A former pitcher, who once faced the Philadelphia Phillies and had retired to the City of Brotherly Love, died suddenly. Jose Capellan was just 34 years old.
Capellan died Tuesday of unknown causes, the widow of the player told the Associated Press.
"He died yesterday (Tuesday) and it seems to be due to a heart attack as a result of having used a drug to sleep," Patricia Capellan told the AP over the phone.
The Philadelphia Department of Health ruled the death as an accidental drug intoxication.
Capellan's widow said the pitcher had problems with sleep medicine.
"Still we have to wait for autopsy results to determine exactly what happened," she said, her voice breaking.
She said the remains of her husband will be transferred to Dominican Republic next week for burial.
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Capellan, a native of the Dominican Republic retired to Philadelphia after his baseball career.
He pitched five seasons in the majors with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies. The right-hander went 5-7, 5.89 ERA in 99 games between 2004 and 2008. He last pitched in the United States for the Houston Astros' Triple-A affiliate in the 2009 season.
He also saw action in Korea and in winter ball in the Dominican Republic with the Gigantes del Cibao and Toros del Este. He last played for the Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League in 2013-2014.
