José DeLeón, Former MLB Pitcher for White Sox, Pirates and Cardinals, Dead at 63

The Dominican Republic-born athlete played professionally for 13 seasons

Former baseball pro José DeLeón has died, reports the Associated Press. He was 63.

A cause of death has not yet been revealed for the former major league pitcher, although he had been dealing with health issues, his Dominican Winter League team, Los Leones del Escogido, said, according to the AP. MLB insider Hector Gomez and the Chicago Sun-Times reported that DeLeón died of cancer.

DeLeón died Sunday evening at Cedimat Hospital in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Los Leones del Escogido, said, reports the AP. No other details were immediately available.

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During his 13 seasons in the MLB, DeLeón pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago White Sox, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos, per CBS Sports. He was active from 1983 to 1995.

Related: White Sox Pitcher Liam Hendriks Is Officially 'Cancer Free' From Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Former Sox and Pirates manager Gene Lamont, who worked with DeLeón in the 1990s, told the Sun-Times he was "saddened" by the player's death.

“I’m saddened to hear of Jose’s passing,” Lamont said. “That’s too bad. He was a really good pitcher for a lot of years and a super guy. He was always ready to pitch.”

"Jose was a terrific teammate and passionate about people,” Dan Evans, who was the White Sox' general manager during DeLeón’s time with the team, told the Sun-Times. “He had an above average repertoire, and helped us when we badly needed a starter in the mid-1980s and then contributed a lot from the bullpen in the 1990s."

DeLeón’s professional highlights include his major league debut on July 23, 1983, in which he struck out nine batters over eight innings in a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. In 1989, DeLeón led the National League with 201 strikeouts.

He also made 415 appearances, including 264 starts, throughout his career.

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