MLB lefty Cormier, pitched in 1988, ’08 Olympics, dies at 53

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rheal Cormier, the durable left-hander who spent 16 seasons in the majors and remarkably pitched in the Olympics before and after his time in the big leagues, has died. He was 53. The Philadelphia Phillies said Cormier died Monday of cancer at his home in New Brunswick, Canada. Cormier owned a neat nook in Phillies history: He was the winning pitcher in the final game that Philadelphia won at Veterans Stadium in 2003, and also was the winner in the first game the Phils won after moving into Citizens Bank Park in 2004. He pitched for Canada in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Games.