Report: Giambi Died Of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

We reported earlier this week on the tragic death of former major leaguer Jeremy Giambi. Today, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner has confirmed that Giambi died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. 

Giambi is the brother of 5-time All-Star Jason Giambi, and played on the same team as him for two seasons with the Oakland A's in 2000-01. He also played for the Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. 

Jeremy Giambi had troubles with performance-enhancing drugs during his 6-year career, and was implicated in the BALCO investigation in 2003, the company that was at the center of baseball's steroids scandal. Giambi testified before a federal grand jury that year. 

In 2005, he admitted to having used steroids. The Kansas City Star report quoted Giambi as saying “It’s something I did. I apologize. I made a mistake. I moved on.” 

"It's a tough shadow when your brother is Jason Giambi and he wore that with pride. He was well-liked and fun-loving," longtime A's executive Billy Beane told Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News.  

It's not known what directly led to Giambi's recent troubles that tragically ended in his death, but his former teammate in Oakland, Barry Zito, upon hearing of his death, said "I hope this can be a wake-up call for people out there to not go at it alone and for families and friends to trust their intuition when they feel somebody needs help."

Giambi was just 47 years old.