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Former Angels and Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson dies at 29

Angels pitcher Tommy Hanson points to a teammate during a game against Houston on May 31, 2013.

Angels pitcher Tommy Hanson points to a teammate during a game against Houston on May 31, 2013.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
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Tommy Hanson, a former major league pitcher who spent one season with the Angels, died Monday at age 29.

Hanson’s death was confirmed Monday night by the Atlanta Braves, the team with which he spent the other four years of his major league career.

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Hanson was hospitalized Sunday morning when he was having difficulty breathing is said to have suffered “catastrophic organ failure,” according to WSB-TV in Atlanta. He later slipped into a coma, according to multiple reports.

The Redlands East Valley High and Riverside Community College product was drafted by Atlanta in 2005. He went 45-32 with the Braves before being traded to the Angels for Jordan Walden after the 2012 season.

Hanson went 4-3 with the Angels, missing nearly a month of the season after the death of his stepbrother.

“I was having mental issues with the death of my younger brother,” Hanson said at the time. “I was just trying to get through it. I didn’t know how to handle it.

“That was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me. I didn’t know how to cope with it.”

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He went on to sign with several other organizations but didn’t appear in any major league games with those teams.

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