Ex-Pitcher Rod Scurry Is Hospitalized

RENO — Former major league baseball pitcher Rod Scurry was in the intensive care unit at Washoe Medical Center on Thursday after a pre-dawn incident with sheriff’s deputies, authorities said.

Washoe County Undersheriff Dan Coppa said neighbors called authorities shortly after 1 a.m. PST and said Scurry was acting strangely.

When deputies arrived, Scurry was outside his home, complaining that snakes were in his house, biting and crawling on him, Coppa said.

The undersheriff said deputies tried to calm Scurry, but Scurry became agitated instead and they attempted to take him into custody for his own safety.

Coppa said Scurry then became violent and stopped breathing when deputies were putting on handcuffs and leg hobbles.

He was flown to Washoe Medical Center, where he remained in the intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Scurry, 36, was the No. 1 draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974, and he remained with that organization until the mid-1980s. His career was tarnished by drug and alcohol problems and ended with a stint with the Seattle Mariners in 1989.

An investigation into the incident continued.