George Mason pitcher dies after Tommy John surgery
The George Mason University community is mourning the death of student-athlete Sang Ho Baek, a pitcher for the Fairfax, Virginia, university's baseball team.
The 20-year-old from Seoul who grew up partly in Salisbury, Maryland, died June 12, the school said.
"We are devastated by the passing of Sang," George Mason head baseball coach Bill Brown said in a statement. "Sang was an incredible teammate who was loved by everyone associated with Mason baseball."
A funeral home that has a service scheduled for Baek for June 26, said in a website post that he died "suddenly from complications of a surgery."
Teammate Scott Morgan said on a GoFundMe page for Baek's family that Baek died from complications after Tommy John surgery, common for baseball pitchers. The procedure essentially repairs a torn ligament inside the elbow.
Baek, who played seven games during the spring season, graduated last year from James M. Bennett High School in Maryland, where he helped the school win the state championship in 2019.
The Holloway Funeral Home said he attended the Korean Presbyterian Church and went on a mission to Nicaragua in 2018 to help build houses for the country's indigenous.
"He especially loved his mother's Korean cooking," the home said.
He is survived by his parents and his sister, as well as by several relatives who are in South Korea.
