Giants' part owner Sue Burns dead at 58

Burns, a part owner of the San Francisco Giants and devoted philanthropist who was close with home run king Barry Bonds, died on Sunday. She was 58.

Burns died of complications from lung cancer, former managing partner Peter Magowan said. She was diagnosed with the disease July 10 and missed Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter for the Giants that night— a rare absence from the ballpark. Burns attended a game against San Diego the previous day.

Magowan said in a phone interview that Burns had recently complained of sciatic pain in her legs and an MRI soon after revealed the cancer had spread throughout her body.

“All of baseball mourns the passing of Sue Burns,” commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. “She and her late husband, Harmon, along with Peter Magowan and the other Giants' investors saved baseball in San Francisco in 1992. Sue was a great baseball fan and loved her Giants. She was a wonderful person who was beloved for all of her good works in the community. She will be missed.”

Giants players and coaches had their annual picnic with Burns at her suburban Atherton home on July 8. Always in orange, she was easy to spot in the lower-box seats near San Francisco's dugout.

“She was there every day,” manager Bruce Bochy said in Pittsburgh, where the Giants played the Pirates. “She loved her boys. She was proud of them.”

Former Giants manager and current Reds skipper Dusty Baker said he spoke to Burns only a few days ago. Baker's wife, Melissa, and son, Darren, had planned to visit Burns on Sunday night, Baker said.

He was shocked to hear the news in a call from Giants bench coach Ron Wotus.

“I have a pain in my heart,” Baker said from Cincinnati after his team beat Milwaukee 5-3. “What a great person. She and Harmon were as kind and conscientious people as I've ever seen. They were always thoughtful. They were owners but didn't seem like owners. They made everybody feel like family. They genuinely had love for people, the players and their families. It made for a wonderful situation.”

Burns often followed the team on the road and regularly went to spring training in Arizona. The Giants estimated that she attended at least 1,000 games over the last decade.

“We all have heavy hearts,” Bochy said. “Sue was such a beautiful lady who gave us her unwavering support all the time. These were her kids. We're going to miss her, her smile, coming down by the dugout before the game. Our thoughts are with her family, her daughters Tori and Trina.”

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