When we are young and impressionable, all our sports heroes appear to be ten feet tall. We marvel at their exploits, revel in their triumphs, share in their disappointments, and excuse their foibles off the playing field.
They can do no wrong.
We wish we could grow up to emulate them. We hope to replicate their amazing feats. We fantasize to be in their shoes even if for one play to throw that impossible touchdown pass, hit the unexpected walk-off home run, or shoot the impossible buzzer-beater basket to win the game. We are driven to experience the thrill of it all.
We live vicariously through them. We idolize them. We try to act like them. They are an integral part of the innocent days of our youth. They teach us a lot through our years of adolescence just as we are beginning to figure out what life is all about.
For me, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan was such a person. He was found dead (see video report from WBAL TV in Baltimore) yesterday at the age of 59 outside his home in Monkton, Maryland.
Mike Flanagan (left) with the legendary "Earl of Baltimore" and Manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Earl Weaver, after winning Game 1 of the 1979 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Leading 3-1 after four games, the Orioles lost that memorable series in seven games to Willie Stargell's Battlin' Bucs, who had adopted Sister Sledge's 1979 hit song "We Are Family" as a rallying cry. Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports.
I never met Mike Flanagan although I did see him weave his magic off of that pitching mound a few times in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Through much of his long, thirty years career with the Orioles, I must have also watched him for countless hours on television. First, as a wonderful pitcher and pitching coach; then, as a television broadcaster; and, finally, in his role as a front office executive for the Orioles.
The soft-spoken, reticent New Englander had a certain natural, gentle calmness about him that endeared him to teammates. No, he wasn't the biggest star on those amazing Orioles teams from the mid-1970's to the mid-1980's. Others eclipsed him in star power, media attention, and baseball statistics. That said, "Flanny" was a ferocious competitor and it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that he was as important as Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Ken Singleton, Rick Dempsey, and, later, Cal Ripken, Jr. to the enduring success of those Orioles teams. Some people shun individual attention; no matter their chosen profession, the team's accomplishments are what matter most to them. For that display of modesty, Flanagan was beloved by many of his teammates.
Eddie Murray (left) with Cal Ripken, Jr. Photo credit: Style CEO.
Some of Flanagan's teammates from the Baltimore Orioles expressed shock at his passing and had this to say upon this sad occasion:
It's just unbelievable. The last time I talked to him was when (the Orioles) were here, July 31. After the game, I drove him to Penn Station. We were together in the car for about 25 minutes. It was a good talk. He told me: 'This is no way for this team to be.' Everybody told me that he was really despondent about the Orioles and the fact that people were blaming him.
"We all told him to stop reading the internet."
"What I'll always remember Flanny for is his sense of humor," said Singleton. "I'll never forget the trip we took to Japan in 1984 and he was really getting roughed up when (Orioles manager) Joe Altobelli went out of the mound to ask him what was wrong. He said: 'That's the problem with being on this side of the earth. My pitches go the other way.'"
- Cal Ripken, Jr., President and CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc. - Baltimore Sun
I am so sorry to hear about Mike's passing. He was a good friend and teammate and our thoughts are with Alex and his family. Mike was an Oriole through and through and he will be sorely missed by family, friends and fans. This is a sad day.
Mike was such a unique guy: Talented, witty, funny. He had a reserved side of him, too, when you experienced all the things we experienced. I was kind of his mentor, and I was proud to do that. Robin Roberts did that for me, and I was proud to carry on that tradition with Scotty [McGregor], Storm Davis, [Mike] Boddicker, and Mike and Denny Martinez. That’s what made us what we were.
You are not ready to lose someone like Mike Flanagan. But on the other side, I feel lucky to be part of the organization and have had him as a friend and a confidant and buddy and see all facets of him. That’s what baseball is all about, the ups and downs and good times and bad times. He was one of my students and then became one of my friends. It is just horrible. You could go into shock. It’s surreal, it’s like it hasn’t happened...
Flanny was somewhat of a selfless guy. I don’t think he talked much about himself. You don’t find that in most people. He was a terrific pitching coach. He was a special human being. You don’t replace people like that in your life. That’s why I feel so fortunate to have spent so much time with him as I did.
Photo credits: amazon.com (Singleton) and Bleacher Report (Palmer).
|
|
Earlier this evening, I watched some of the local sports broadcasts here in Washington, D.C. A number of sports reporters fondly remembered Flanagan as a man who was thoroughly decent and with a wicked, dry sense of humor. To a person, they couldn't recall even once when he spoke ill of any another person or ever complained about anything.
David Brown of Yahoo! Sports recounted Flanagan's importance to the Orioles both as a player and person
Mike Flanagan played for the Baltimore Orioles when they weren't a punchline.
He made the All-Star Game in 1978, tossed a league-leading five shutouts and won the AL Cy Young Award in '79, pitched on the O's World Series champion club in '83 and was part of a no-hitter in 1991... He isn't as well-known nationally as icons such as Cal Ripken or Eddie Murray, but Flanagan's accomplishments in Orioles history haven't been equaled by many — one of the somberly put observations made by catcher Rick Dempsey to the Baltimore Sun:
"It's just shock right now," said Dempsey. "I know everybody that played with him loved him to death. He was the backbone of that pitching staff. He never quit -- this guy never quit. He was there for the duration. We had so many great games and so many great times. I just can't believe it."
The Orioles, generally, were larger than life in those days. It's hard to imagine now, but the Orioles and the Kansas City Royals were modern major league success stories. They won games, they won championships. And when they didn't win, they got close. They were respected for their consistent competence and unwavering class.
Photo credit: Orioles Numbers
In late 2009, when beloved Washington, D.C. sportscaster George Michael passed away, I wrote in this tribute to him
The [1970's] and 1980's represented an era in professional sports when commercialism hadn't crept in to the degree that it has in recent years, free agency was not all that common, sports was more about civic pride, and players didn't move as easily from city to city in search of the next biggest paycheck. Loyalty to a team and city meant something and the fans reciprocated in every way possible. As the sports landscape changed and as television stations started focusing more on the bottom line, George explained his frustrations in an interview with columnist Leonard Shapiro
"Everything has changed," Michael said that day. "Why has it changed? Because whatever you do, quality doesn't really matter. It's whether you kept the cost down. Management doesn't worry about ratings. They worry about the dollars and I guess I won't argue with that. That's just the way it is now . . . The problem is, if I'm going to do it, I'm only going to do it right."
"Flanny" certainly represented that sports era with quiet dignity and loyalty to a city and its adoring sports fans. For all of his individual accomplishments in professional baseball -- and there were many -- he was the consummate team player. Based on what I know about him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind being remembered so long as we also paid tribute to his teammates.
RIP Mike Flanagan. Thanks for the many wonderful memories. You did good in life.