COCAINE IDENTIFIED IN PORTER AUTOPSY

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Former All-Star catcher Darrell Porter had cocaine in
his system when he died, according to autopsy results released Monday.

Porter, 50, had a level of cocaine in his system "typical of someone who
uses (cocaine) recreationally," Jackson County medical examiner Dr. Thomas
Young said.

Young would not be more specific, saying measurements of cocaine in the
body after death can be unreliable and can vary depending on where blood is
drawn. It was unclear when Porter took the drug.

Porter did not die of an overdose, Young said, but of a condition called
excited delirium, which causes "behavior that is agitated, bizarre and
potentially violent," and stopped Porter's heart.

Porter's body was found next to his car in a park Aug. 5. Porter played for
four teams and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1982 World Series with
the St. Louis Cardinals.

During spring training in 1980, Porter checked into a drug-and-alcohol
rehabilitation center. He chronicled his struggle with addiction and
recovery from it in a 1984 book, Snap Me Perfect! The Darrell Porter Story.
Young said "heat exposure" and an enlarged heart, common among drug users
or those with high cholesterol, contributed to Porter's death.