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Ex-Atlanta Braves pitcher Hanson died of drug overdose (Reuters)

By David Beasley

ATLANTA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Cocaine and alcohol killed former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson last month, a Georgia coroner said on Friday, finding that an accidental overdose had caused the death of an athlete once considered one of baseball's most promising pitchers.

Hanson, 29, was discovered unresponsive at his suburban Atlanta home on Nov. 9. He lapsed into a coma, suffered organ failure and died later that night, according to authorities.

The six-foot, six-inch (1.98-metre) athlete, whose career was derailed by shoulder injuries, died from "delayed complications of cocaine and alcohol toxicity," Coweta County coroner Richard Hawk said.