Former Orioles pitcher Sammy Stewart found dead at 63

Former Baltimore Orioles right-hander Sammy Stewart, who pitched for the team during their 1983 World Series season, was found dead at a residence on Friday, according to The Associated Press. He was 63.

The Orioles confirmed Stewart's death in a club release.

The Henderson County Sheriff's Office did not reveal a cause of death, although Stewart's life had deteriorated because of a drug addiction since his career ended in 1987.

After his retirement, Stewart turned to crack cocaine and was arrested more than two dozen times.

"I never started smoking cocaine 'til I was 33 years old, 'til after I got out of baseball," Stewart told Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe in 2006. "I couldn't stop once I started. I'd go on a binge for three or four days or 35 days. I'd go 'til all the money was gone."

Stewart told the Globe he spent every penny of an estimated $3 million he made during his career, sold his 1983 World Series championship ring, and was even homeless, sleeping under bridges, because of his drug addiction.

"There's a lot of times I wished I would have died because I was pathetic," he said. "I guess I started digging a hole for myself and it got so bad I got homeless, moneyless, friendless. I just started covering myself up instead of climbing out of the hole."

Stewart, who spent more than six years in prison before his release in 2013, also lost his 11-year-old son, Colin, to cystic fibrosis in 1991.

During his 10 years in the majors, Stewart posted a regular-season record of 59-48 with a 3.59 ERA in 359 appearances. He never allowed a run in the postseason, which included four combined World Series appearances in 1979 and '83.