Eric Show Is Found Dead at 37 : Baseball: Former Padre pitcher known for eccentric behavior was in a drug treatment center. Cause of death has not been determined.

Eric Show, whose turmoil-filled career spanned 11 major league seasons with the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, was found dead Wednesday morning in his bed at a private drug treatment center near San Diego. He was 37.

Show’s body was discovered at 8:23 a.m. at the Rancho L’Abri retreat in Dulzura, a rural community 30 miles southeast of the city where he achieved his greatest fame.

While pitching for the Padres in 1984, Show won 15 games and led the team to its only National League championship. He finished his career with a 101-89 record and 3.66 earned-run average.

The cause of death was not immediately determined, pending an autopsy, according to the San Diego County medical examiner.

Show’s off-field behavior was questioned by the time he was released by Oakland during spring training in 1992. He had disappeared from camp for three days, then reported with cuts on both hands.

He asked to be released from a $700,000 contract, and never played again. Apparently none of his former friends on the Padres had heard from him since.

Dave Dravecky, probably his closest friend on the team, received a set of golf clubs from Show several years ago during Dravecky’s battle with cancer.

But, typical of Show, he enclosed only a brief note with no information about himself. Dravecky was unable to track him down to thank him.

“All of this just goes to show that nobody ever really knew Eric,” said Tim Flannery, another longtime teammate. “It’s tragic.”

Show will be most remembered not for his achievements, but his eccentricities.

In 1984 in San Diego, early in the Padres’ championship run, he was spotted at a local fair with teammates Dravecky and Mark Thurmond passing out pamphlets for the John Birch Society. Show later acknowledged that he was a member of the controversial group.

In 1985 in Cincinnati, he threw the pitch that Pete Rose knocked into left field for Rose’s 4,192nd hit, breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time record. While everyone in Riverfront Stadium stood and cheered, Show sat on the mound with his arms folded, drawing much criticism.

In 1987 in Chicago, when the Cubs’ Andre Dawson was baseball’s hottest hitter, Show hit Dawson in the head with a pitch at Wrigley Field, nearly causing a riot among outraged fans.

Show was as interested in philosophy and physics as fastballs, often spending his time off on the road studying in local libraries.

“Eric had a very keen mind,” said Jerry Coleman, longtime Padres announcer. “But it always took a left turn.”

Show, a native of Riverside, is survived by his wife, Cara Mia.

Times staff writer Bob Nightengale contributed to this story.