Ryan Freel: Death Reported to be from Apparent Suicide

Police and news media reports out of Florida today have indicated that retired Cincinnati Reds major-league baseball player Ryan Freel died of an apparent suicide. The police reports referenced in the media say that 36 year old Ryan Freel was found dead Saturday in his home in Jacksonville Florida from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Freel had played in the major leagues for five different teams over his career before retiring in 2010. Freel played for the Reds from 2003 to 2008. According to analysts, Freel’s career ended prematurely as a result of a series of injuries beginning in 2006 and ending with a head injury, putting Freel on the disabled list in 2009.

Financially, Freel fared well earning a reported eleven and a half million dollars during his time with professional baseball. But off the field Freel had at times struggled with alcohol abuse. In 2005, Freel pleaded guilty to a DUI and later in 2006 was charged with misdemeanor disorderly intoxication.

Freel had reportedly changed saying, “I have not had a sip of alcohol in (nearly) three years. I definitely learned from that,” in a report from the Baltimore Sun in the City where Freel played for the Orioles in 2009. “Me and drinking probably wasn’t a good thing. Kicking that whole thing was probably the best thing to happen for me, my family and my career.”

In a statement from the Cincinnati Reds, the team said, “His teammates and our fans loved him for how hard he played the game, and he loved giving back to the community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”