Ken Suarez cause of death: Former MLB star passes away at 80

Ken Suarez, a former major league ballplayer, has passed away at the age of 80. He played for the Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers before moving into a front office role.

Before the 1968 season, the catcher was drafted by Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft. He had a connection with their new manager Al Dark as the two were together in Kansas City. Ken Suarez had a brief but solid MLB career, accumulating 3.2 bWAR.

How did Ken Suarez die?

At the age of 80, Ken Suarez passed away thanks to Alzheimer's. He had dealt with the illness for a little while before it ultimately claimed his life.

Ken Suarez Passes Away mlbtraderumors.com/2023/08/ken-su… pic.twitter.com/JWWO4wHWRl

In his two seasons in Cleveland, Suarez hit .274/.378/.358 with 16 walks and 15 strikeouts in 113 plate appearances as the main backup catcher. He did not play in the MLB in 1970 but played in a few games in 1971 before being traded to the Rangers for their first year in Texas.

He would go on to become their main catcher, posting decent enough offensive metrics while playing stellar defense behind the plate. Suarez eventually became the first player in Rangers' history to go to abritration.

RIP Ken Suarez #KenSuarez pic.twitter.com/AFV20OaG2o

After that, they decided to trade him to Cleveland, but he retired before suiting up for the franchise again.

In total, the former catcher played part of seven seasons in the MLB, slashing .227/.330/.297 across almost 800 plate appearances. After he retired, Suarez did color commentary and even worked as a scout for the Rangers.