2001 All-PCC catcher, ex-Royals minor leaguer dead at 36
SAN MARCOS / GULF SHORES, Alabama (12-08-2018) / (UPDATED 12-09-2018, 12-11-2018 AND 12-21-2018) – Jake Guzman, who was drafted out of Palomar following the 2001 season by the Kansas City Royals and spent three years as a catcher in the Royals' farm system where he advanced to the Double-A level, passed away unexpectedly in Gulf Shores, located on Alabama's Gulf Coast, on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Former Palomar head coach Buck Taylor, who is currently the pitching coach and coordinator at Kansas State University in the Big 12 conference, initially posted the news of Guzman's passing on social media on Saturday.
Initial reports were that Guzman died on Thursday in Atlanta.
Taylor coached the Comets' catchers and pitchers when Guzman, who came to Palomar out of Santana High School where he had been an All-CIF San Diego Section selection, was the first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference catcher for the 2001 Comets.
Guzman drove in 44 runs, at the time tied for fourth best on the all-time Palomar list. He helped lead Palomar to a 32-11 season. The Comets, under head coach Bob Vetter and associate head coach Taylor, finished one game out of first place in the PCC.
Guzman spent five years total in professional baseball, in the Royals farm system and then in Independent ball where he was briefly converted into a pitcher during one of his two seasons on that level. An outstanding defensive catcher, in his best pro season at the plate he batted .319 for Yuma in indy ball in 2005.
-----
According to FOX10tv.com WALA in Mobile, the Gulf Shores Police Department was called to the 1500 block of West Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores on Tuesday (Dec. 4) in reference to a death investigation, beginning a series of events which is routine in undetermined deaths. Patrol officers confirmed Guzman's identification and that he was deceased. Officials said the department secured the scene and initiated an investigation before contacting the Baldwin County Major Crime Unit for assistance.
Investigators from both agencies, acting as a team, launched a full-scale investigation to determine the cause of Guzman's death. They stressed that foul play is not suspected, but said the cause and manner of death have not been identified, and according to the FOXNews web site "toxiocology reports and other investigative techniques" would be conducted by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in an investigation that "could take months".
-----
Jacob Paul Guzman was born on Aug. 2, 1982 in La Mesa. A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 22, at Faith Chapel, 940 Campo Rd. in Spring Valley.
Guzman is survived by his parents, Paul and Sheri Guzman, and by a daughter.
He was 36 years old.