Retired relief pitcher Doug Creek died Sunday at the age of 55, just three months after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Creek spent nine season in Major League Baseball, suiting up for the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs, Rays, Mariners, Blue Jays and Tigers in a career that spanned ten years between 1995 and 2005.
The Virginia native was considered a top prospect in his youth, being named high school baseball player of the year in 1987 before attending Georgia Tech.
His death was confirmed in a heartbreaking Instagram post by his daughter, Aubrie.
‘My life for ever changed this morning. There will never be a day that goes by where I don’t miss you. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that you’re really gone. It just doesn’t feel real,’ she wrote, accompanying the post with pictures of her with her late father over the years.
‘We may have butt heads quite a bit and disagreed on everything under the sun but one thing we did agree on is baseball and our love for it. It made me so happy to share a love for something you were so passionate about.’
Doug Creek, 55, is best known for his ten year long career in Major League Baseball
One of Creek’s teammates, Scott Bullett, paid tribute to his late friend in an interview with The Journal in West Martinsburg, West Virginia.
‘He was a good guy. We played against each other in the minors. It’s sad to see a guy like Dougie go so soon.’
In the majors, Creek is best known for his two stints with the St. Louis Cardinals, who drafted him out of college.
Among his claims to fame was striking out legendary slugger Mark McGwire twice in 1997 when the All-Star was with the Athletics.
‘He pitched a good game, it wasn’t just one batter. Give the pitcher some credit. He did his job,’ McGwire said at the time.
Among his managers were the legendary Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker.
‘[Piniella’s] a guy that you just wanted to go to war with him. He’s not scary or imposing, but you want to go out and play well for him. I felt the same way with Dusty Baker when I played for him,’ Creek said in a 2002 interview.
Creek’s sad death was confirmed by his daughter, Aubrie, in a heartbreaking Instagram post
His final game came in 2005. During his career, Creek also spent a season playing in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers.
According to The Journal’s tribute, Creek became an avid boater in his retirement, becoming a charter captain and competitive angler.
He married his now ex-wife, Allison, in 2001. She gave birth to their child, son Colton, in July 2002. Colton now works as a corrections officer in Maryland.
Their daughter, Aubrie, was born in March 2004, a full 10 weeks premature weighing just four pounds, forcing Creek to take time off from playing to help his wife, who was suffering from hypertension, he told The Memphis Commercial Appeal in 2004.