Long time Oriole pitcher Mike Flanagan was found dead this past Wednesday after he committed suicide on his property in Maryland by way of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. He was apparently stressed out over financial issues and the current state of the Baltimore Orioles.

After his 18 year career in the Major Leagues ended, Flanagan worked for the Orioles as a pitching coach, in the front office and eventually, the broadcast booth. Flanagan was co-GM of the Orioles but was fired and put in the broadcast booth by owner Peter Angelos.

According to former teammate Ken Singleton, Flanagan was noticeably upset that some people online had partially blamed him for the poor state of the Orioles franchise.

Of course, the Orioles, who are in the midst of yet another losing season, can only blame their horrible owner Angelos for the team’s decline.

Flanagan spent the better part of 15 seasons with the Orioles making one All-Star appearance and winning the Cy Young Award in 1979. He also spent a few years with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was one of the best left-handed pitchers of his era and finished with a career record of 167-143 and won a World Series with the Orioles in 1983.

In the front office, Flanagan was instrumental in bringing Lee Mazilli in as manager for the Orioles. However, many within the organization wanted Sam Perlozzo to take over and Mazilli was eventually fired (reportedly for not signing a document supporting Rafael Palmiero after he was caught on steroids).

Many Orioles players have spoken about the untimely passing of their friend and teammate. Jim Palmer called Flanagan “family” while echoing sentiment from others who played on the Orioles.

Despite his strong 18 year career (which landed him in the Orioles Hall-of-Fame) Flanagan was clearly incredibly upset over things that went wrong after he stopped playing. Our thoughts go out to the Flanagan family with his untimely death.

Used with permission of the author.

Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.

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