Alcohol intoxication contributed to Marzano's death

But Marzano's life was cut tragically short in what the city's medical examiner's office ruled an accidental death.

Yesterday, Jeff Moran, spokesman for the medical examiner's office, said the 45-year-old died from postural asphyxia, or suffocation.

Contributing conditions that lead to his death were blunt trauma and ethanol - or alcohol - intoxication, Moran said.

The news came 3 months after Marzano was found dead in his Passyunk Avenue home, on April 19. After a 10-year career, news of his death sent shockwaves throughout the Major League Baseball community.

In response, MLB.com established an internship in his name.

Marzano's major league debut, in 1987, began as a wide-eyed, first-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox.

Stints with the Texas Rangers ('95) and Seattle Mariners ('96-98) followed.

Despite his Fenway Park beginnings, the South Philly native's passion for the game sprouted as a tot throwing balls back and forth in his neighborhood with his father, John A. Marzano.

A star catcher at both Central High and Temple University, he went on to play on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, where baseball was included as a demonstration sport.

After a long baseball career, Marzano served as a host on WIP radio and as a postgame analyst at Comcast SportsNet for Phillies games before joining MLB.com, according to the Web site. He was host of MLB.com's "Leading Off" for two seasons before his death. *