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, aneurysm or something like that?”. He looked healthy, alert and I didn’t see anything to indicate any health issues.
Then, I heard on the radio this morning that his death was a result of a suicide. If that’s true, it is even more saddening.
Then again, it doesn’t matter the way Flanagan died — all I know is that he seemed to touch a lot of people’s lives and he is no longer here.
I can only say that I met him once as a fan – where I got his autograph – and also several times as a blogger during team sponsored events, such as “Blogger Day”. He seemed like a good guy, down-to-earth, with a sardonic sense of humor and definitely knew the game — in and out.
We all will remember Flanagan as a successful pitcher for the Birds when they were good, along with pitching the last inning at Memorial Stadium. Although his stint as an executive with the Orioles was not very successful, no one cares about that now.
From what I have heard today, everyone was touched by his sense of humor, kindness and loyalty to the Baltimore organization.
Today, I’m sure we as fans are torn up. It must be worse for his family, ex-teammates, friends, the Orioles’ staff and co-workers.
Rest in peace, Mike Flanagan.
