Mike Flanagan Dead: Former Orioles Pitcher Found Dead At Home
BALTIMORE — Mike Flanagan, a former Cy Young winner and part of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series championship team, has died. He was 59.
Authorities found a body outside Flanagan's home in Monkton, Md. on Wednesday afternoon. Hours later, the Orioles confirmed that Flanagan – who served the team as a pitcher, front office executive and television broadcaster – was dead.
"I am so sorry to hear about Mike's passing. He was a good friend and teammate," said Hall of Fame third baseman Cal Ripken Jr., a former teammate of Flanagan's. "... Mike was an Oriole through and through and he will be sorely missed by family, friends and fans. This is a sad day."
Flanagan was a crafty left-hander who went 167-143 with a 3.90 ERA over 18 seasons with Baltimore and Toronto. He didn't possess an overpowering fastball, but won a fair share of games by depending on a slow curve, a sinker and a changeup.
Flanagan received the Cy Young Award with the Orioles in 1979 after going 23-9 with a 3.08 ERA and five shutouts. The Orioles lost the World Series that year in seven games to Pittsburgh.
"We were a family," former teammate and Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said after doing the Orioles telecast Wednesday night. "It's devastating."
Flanagan also played for Baltimore's 1983 championship team, finishing 12-4 despite missing nearly three months with ligament damage in his left knee.
He was 141-116 with Baltimore and is a member of the team's Hall of Fame. Flanagan was also the final Oriole to pitch at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore's home from 1954-1991.
His career with Toronto was not as profound. Traded from Baltimore to the Blue Jays on August 31, 1987, for pitchers Oswaldo Peraza and Jose Mesa, he went 3-2 with Toronto that season, then 13-13 and 8-10.
He signed as a free agent with Baltimore in 1991 and pitched out of the bullpen during his final two seasons.
After his playing career, Flanagan worked in the Orioles' front office as vice president for baseball operations and executive VP. In recent years, including this season, he did color commentary for the team's TV network.
"It is with deep sadness that I learned of the death of my friend Mike Flanagan earlier this evening," Orioles owner Peter Angelos said in a statement. "In over a quarter century with the organization, Flanny became an integral part of the Orioles family, for his accomplishments both on and off the field. His loss will be felt deeply and profoundly by all of us with the ballclub and by Orioles fans everywhere who admired him."
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DAVID GINSBURG 08/25/11 12:38 AM ET Associated Press