Veteran minor league pitcher Matt Pobereyko, who had recently become one of the best pitchers in Mexico, died suddenly near Chicago, shocked officials and loved ones said Monday.
He was 31 years old.
Pobereyko was in his apartment, in a West Chicago-area suburb when he collapsed Friday and was later discovered by his girlfriend, the pitcher’s brother, Daniel Pobereyko, said Monday.
«He just fell off and that’s all we know,» the grieving brother said. «We do not know. There’s nothing outstanding in the autopsy. But from what I understand, he would have gotten a clean bill of health if he had a pulse.»
He 6-foot-3, 220-pound player He was found «unresponsive on his kitchen floor» and «pronounced dead at the scene,» according to a statement from Warrenville Police Chief Sam Bonilla.
“There were no suspicious circumstances to report and the autopsy carried out the next day did not reveal anything else,” Bonilla added.
The cause of death is «pending further investigation,» a spokesman for the DuPage County coroner’s office said. It will likely take another seven and a half weeks before a formal cause is determined, the spokesman added.
The pitcher’s death came as a shock to his loved ones, Daniel Pobereyko said. Pobereyko’s parents visited him earlier in the week and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
«From what we know now, there are really no leads,» Daniel Pobereyko said. «He was seen earlier in the week and he seemed perfectly fine.»
Pobereyko played two winter seasons, 2021-22 and 2022-23, at Algodoneros de Guasave and the team laid a wreath on the pitcher’s mound at Kuroda Park in Guasave and wrote the number 56 in chalk.
The memorial included a handwritten message: «Thank you for bringing such joy.»
Pobereyko’s teammates and coaches are suffering «deep sadness,» said Algodoneros de Guasave spokesman Rubén Benítez.
“He was a great teammate, he got along very well with everyone,” Benítez said.
«Never (any health issues), he was always a very healthy man.»
The Hammond, Indiana native played for Kentucky Wesleyan before embarking on a minor league career it included stops with the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins organizations.
He made it as high as the Mets’ triple-A team in Las Vegas in 2018.
In recent years, most of Pobereyko’s work had come in independent and Mexican leagues.
«He was an amazing teammate and a fierce competitor, but an even nicer person,» according to one Saint Paul’s Declaration of the Saintswhere Pobereyko launched in 2020. «He will be missed by all who knew him. We send our love to his family and friends.
This winter, Pobereyko pitched for cotton farmers of guasave and led the league in strikeouts, fanning out 73 batters in 70 1/3 innings.
His last competitive match this month he was launching for mexico in the Caribbean World Series in Venezuela.
Even at the ripe age of 31, Pobereyko dreamed of playing at higher levels, perhaps in Asia if he couldn’t return to the big leagues.
«I had my eyes on the Asian markets because I had pitched very well in Mexico,» Daniel Pobereyko said. «So I was at least hoping for that. He still had some really good stuff, and he was going to pitch as long as he did.»
sandra lilley , frank polly and albinson linares contributed.