Like most baseball fans around the D.C. area I rooted for the Baltimore Orioles from the mid 70’s to 2004. To remember Mike Flanagan I am going to share with you stories from media and blog sites around the Baltimore and Washington area.
Longtime Oriole Flanagan dead at 59
By Jon Star and Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS — Over his 15 seasons with the Orioles, lefty Mike Flanagan was a fan favorite and one of the best starting pitchers in club history. But it was his impact on the organization off the field that made the news of his death Wednesday so hard to take.
“I always marveled at the way he treated everybody regardless of their background,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Whether it was a guy that never played in the big leagues or whatever. The Orioles have lost a real source of wisdom. It’s just hard to imagine not getting to see him now and then.”
Baltimore County (Md.) police responded to a 911 call placed at 4:26 p.m. ET Wednesday afternoon after a body was found on the property of Flanagan, the former Orioles pitcher, broadcaster and front-office executive. That body was later identified as the former Oriole, the Baltimore Sun originally reported. Read more by clicking here.
Mike Flanagan Was a special person and special Oriole
By Steve Melewski – MASN
The Orioles family is devastated tonight by the news of the death of Mike Flanagan.
I have known Mike many years and am so blessed that he considered me a friend. He listened to radio shows that I hosted on WBAL and this year on 105.7 FM in Baltimore. He often talked about that with me and said he would listen on his drive home.
He could not have been more supportive of me and anything I did around the club. I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone who loved being an Oriole and was more proud to be an Oriole than Mike.
He gave his all for this organization in many roles over many years.
I am so sad for his family and his extended Orioles family. Hearts are broken all over Baltimore tonight as this man touched so many in so many special ways. Read more by clicking here.
When You Fall in Love with Baseball
By Dave Nichols – Nats News Network
I was 12 years old when Mike Flanagan won the Cy Young and took the Baltimore Orioles to the World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. I was, to put it bluntly, devastated when the Pirates came back from being down three games to one to defeat my Orioles. The thought that the Orioles, as good and strong a team as they were, could even possibly lose never entered that 12-year old’s mind.
I was once Mike Flanagan’s biggest fan
By Matthew Taylor – Roar from 34
Flanagan was among my childhood heroes. I wrote him a letter in elementary school for a class project, an effort that included the best compliment my young mind could think to offer: “I’m your biggest fan.” I recall a genuine sense of hurt when he never wrote back. Such is a child’s imagination. Not only did I expect Flanagan to read my letter, I also anticipated he would write back cheerfully and express his sincere gratitude that his search to find the guy who liked him most was finally over.
I moved on from Flanny fandom and became the “biggest fan” of other players. (In the case of Sam Horn, those words may have held some truth. Who else could have been so smitten with a .230 hitter?) And my letter writing campaign continued. Bo Jackson received a sympathy card from this concerned fan after his mother died. It came with an invitation to dinner the next time the Royals were in Baltimore. Click here to read more.
Flanny made his best pitch, on field and off
As pitcher, announcer and team executive, the man who always considered himself an Oriole always wanted to be the best
By Peter Schmuck – Baltimore Sun
It’s impossible to make sense of the things we will never understand, so let’s just remember Mike Flanagan — who was found dead at his home on Wednesday — for all the things he did during a very eventful life and a very impressive athletic career that played out on several stages.
Flanny, as pretty much everyone knew him, played college basketball alongside Julius Erving and pitched for the Orioles in the days when they still smelled of champagne. He went on to become a respected major league pitching coach and a pretty good broadcaster before rising to become the executive vice president of the team that inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1994. Click here to read more.
Mike Flanagan, 1951-2011
Written by The Oriole Post
The Baltimore Orioles won 7-1 last night in Minnesota, finally winning a road series on the back of the offense and an excellent start by Jeremy Guthrie; however, the victory was overshadowed by some terrible news that struck pretty much every fan in the region.
Reports surfaced that Mike Flanagan – MASN Broadcaster, former Oriole pitcher, coach and executive – was found dead on his property early yesterday evening.
I figured the terrible news was true, but as nothing official came out from the team or with the major paper in town (at the time), I thought it could have been a mistake or it might have been some drifter, drunk, etc.
It was not.
Flanagan was indeed dead at 59 years old. I remarked to a friend, “I saw just him the other day on TV. Did he die of a heart attack, annyeurism or something like that?”. He looked healthy, alert and I didn’t see anything to indicate any health issues.
I heard on the radio this morning that his death was a result of a suicide. If that’s true, iit is even more saddening. Click here to read more.
