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Minor League baseball player Matt Pobereyko, 31, died suddenly of a heart attack.
Pobereyko was in his apartment in Chicago when he collapsed. His girlfriend and his brother later discovered him.
“He just dropped, and that’s all we know,” Daniel Pobereyko said. “We don’t know.”
“There’s nothing outstanding on the autopsy. But from what I understand, he would have gotten a clean bill of health if he had a pulse.”
Former Mets minor league pitcher Matt Pobereyko passed away at the age of 31 due to a heart attack. He had pitched in the Mexican League and Dominican Winter League this offseason. pic.twitter.com/Mu1D3pBt8W
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) February 26, 2023
It is with a heavy heart that we learned of the passing of former Saints pitcher ('20) Matt Pobereyko. He was an incredible teammate and fierce competitor, but an even nicer person. He will be missed by all that knew him. We send our love to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/JbRwh1oAws
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) February 26, 2023
Pobereyko played baseball at Kentucky Wesleyan College before signing a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Pobereyko was known as a strong and healthy 6-foot-3 and 220-pound athlete. He was found “unresponsive on his kitchen floor” and “pronounced dead on the scene.”
Warrenville Police Chief Sam Bonilla said, “There were no suspicious circumstances to report, and an autopsy conducted the following day did not reveal anything further.”
The Blue Wahoos join the baseball community in mourning the passing of Matt Pobereyko.
A member of our 2021 team, Matt was beloved on and off the field. Our prayers and love are with his family, friends, and teammates. pic.twitter.com/ZaOrToZjsS
— Pensacola Blue Wahoos (@BlueWahoosBBall) February 26, 2023
We mourn the loss of Matt Pobereyko. A great baseball player and an even better person. RIP Pobo
Read more about Pobereyko's impact on the X's: https://t.co/rHi8cwdeq4 pic.twitter.com/Ufr53uCP1L
— Sioux City Explorers (@SiouxCityXs) February 26, 2023
More from NBC:
A cause of death is “pending further investigation,” a DuPage County coroner’s spokesman said. It will likely take 7½ more weeks for a formal cause to be determined, the spokesman said.
Pobereyko’s death came as a shock to loved ones, his brother said.
“For what we know now, there’s really no leads,” Daniel Pobereyko said. “They saw him earlier in the week, and he seemed to be perfectly fine.”
— Advertisement — Pobereyko played two winter seasons, 2021-22 and 2022-23, for Algodoneros de Guasave in the Mexican Pacific League, and the team placed a wreath on the pitcher’s mound at Kuroda Park in Guasave and wrote the number 56 in chalk.
