Renowned left-handed pitcher Doug Creek died Sunday at the age of 55, just three months after being diagnosed with colon cancer.
Creek spent nine seasons in MLB, playing for the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs, Devil Rays, Mariners, Blue Jays and Tigers in a career that spanned ten years from 1995 to 2005.
The Virginia native was considered a prodigy and was named high school baseball player of the year in 1987 before attending Georgia Tech University.
His death was confirmed in a heartbreaking Instagram post by his daughter, Aubrie.
“This morning my life changed forever. A day will never go by that I don’t miss you. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that you’re actually gone. It just doesn’t seem real,” she wrote, accompanying the post with photographs of herself with her late father over the years.
“We may have had some disagreements and not agreed on everything, but we did agree on one thing: baseball and our love for it. It made me very happy to share the love for something you are so passionate about.”
Doug Creek, 55, is best known for his decade-long career in Major League Baseball.
Creek is survived by his wife of 23 years, Allison, pictured here, and their two children.
One of Creek’s teammates, Scott Bullett, paid tribute to his late friend in an interview with The newspaper in West Martinsburg, West Virginia.
“He was a good kid. We played against each other in the minor leagues. It’s sad to see a kid like Dougie go so soon.”
In the majors, Creek is best known for his two stints with the St. Louis Cardinals, who drafted him while he was in college.
Among his notable achievements is striking out legendary hitter Mark McGwire twice in 1997 while with the Athletics.
“He pitched a good game, he wasn’t just a hitter. You have to give the pitcher credit. He did his job,” McGwire said at the time.
Among his coaches was legendary trainer Lou Piniella.
“(Piniella) is a guy you just want to go to war with. He’s not scary or imposing, but you want to go out there and play well for him. I felt the same way with Dusty Baker when I played for him,” Creek said in a statement. Interview from 2002.
His last game was in 2005. During his career, Creek also spent a season playing in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers.
Creek’s sad death was confirmed by his daughter, Aubrie, in a heartbreaking Instagram post.
According to The Journal’s tribute, Creek became an avid boater in retirement, becoming a boat captain and competitive fisherman.
He married his wife, Allison, in 2001. She gave birth to their son, Colton, in July 2002. Colton now works as a correctional officer in Maryland.
His daughter, Aubrie, was born in March 2004, 10 weeks premature and weighing just four pounds, forcing Creek to take time off from playing to help his wife, who suffered from high blood pressure, he said. The commercial appeal of Memphis in 2004.
