Report: Former Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson died from cocaine overdose

Toxicology results are back and it has been confirmed that former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson died of a cocaine overdose.

The death of former Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tommy Hanson caught the baseball world by surprise on November 10th. 29-year-old athletes just don’t pass away from natural causes, let alone when it involves catastrophic organ failure.

Well, on Friday we learned that those causes were not so natural after all.

According to WSB-TV in Atlanta, the autopsy results have been received and it has been confirmed that the cause of death for Hanson was due to “delayed complications of cocaine and alcohol toxicity.” However, the report goes on to indicate that Hanson’s overdose was likely accidental in nature.

Hanson broke into Major League Baseball with the Atlanta Braves in 2009 and he finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting by going 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA, a 3.50 FIP, and a 8.2 K/9 ratio over his first 127.2 innings pitched. He followed that up with two successful campaigns in 2010-11, combining for a 21-18 record, a 3.44 ERA, and a 8.5 K/9 mark during that span.

However, things took a sharp turn in 2012. Hanson posted a career best 13 wins in 2012, but watched his ERA rise to 4.48 and his FIP to 4.57. He was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2013 for reliever Jordan Walden the following season, but continued to struggle, both with bereavement issues stemming from the death of his step-brother and with re-occurring issues with his pitching shoulder.

Hanson would bounce around the minors a bit during the 2014 and 2015 campaigns, spending time in the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and San Francisco Giants organizations. However, he never saw a Major League mound again.