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Former Major League Baseball player Jeremy Giambi's death has been ruled as a suicide, the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner confirmed Friday (February 11) via the Associated Press.
Giambi, 47, was found dead at his parents home in Claremont, California on Wednesday (February 9) and the coroner's online case records revealed the former outfielder and first baseman died of a gunshot wound, the AP reports.
Giambi played for four franchises during his six-year MLB career, most notably the Oakland Athletics alongside his older brother, Jason, from 2000-02.
The Oakland A's confirmed news of Giambi's death in a statement shared on their verified Twitter account on Wednesday.
"We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of a member of our Green and Gold family, Jeremy Giambi. We offer our condolences to Jeanne, Jason, and his family and friends," the team posted.
Giambi was selected in the sixth-round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals and made his MLB debut in 1998, playing with the team for two seasons before being acquired by the A's in exchange for Brett Laxton prior to the 2000 season.
Giambi appeared in a career-best 443 games and hit for a .283 average during the 2001 season in which Oakland won 102 games.
He was also the runner tagged out during Derek Jeter's famous flip play to home plate during the 2001 ALCS.
Giambi was also a member of the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2002 season and Boston Red Sox for the 2003 season, before signing minor league deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 and Chicago White Sox in 2005.
Giambi experienced legal issues both during and after his playing career, which included being caught with marijuana at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas in December 2001, as well as admitting to having used anabolic steroids during his playing career to the Kansas City Star in 2005, an admission his brother, a five-time All-Star and former AL MVP, had also previously made.
Jeremy Giambi is also among numerous players mentioned in the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game chronicling former A's general manager Billy Beane, which inspired the 2011 film Moneyball starring Brad Pitt.