Steve Bechler
American baseball player (1979–2003)
Steven Scott Bechler (November 18, 1979 – February 17, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles.
After starring for the South Medford High School baseball team, Bechler was selected by the Orioles in the third round of the 1998 MLB draft. Following five seasons in Minor League Baseball, Bechler made his major league debut with the Orioles in 2002.
During spring training in 2003, he died of heat stroke while participating in conditioning drills. A medical examiner found that Bechler's use of the supplement ephedra contributed to his death. Following this revelation, the Food and Drug Administration opened an inquiry, which resulted in the banning of ephedra products in the United States. He and Tom Gastall are the only two Orioles to die while still active players.
Early life
Bechler was born on November 18, 1979, in Medford, Oregon, to Ernest and Patricia Bechler. He had one brother. At the age of seven, he began playing baseball.
“Steve Bechler” enters the record as american baseball player (1979–2003). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Steve, Bechler and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7611901. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1979, 2003, 1998 and 2002.
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This entry incorporates text from “Steve Bechler” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.