Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan, a Cy Young winner and member of the 1983 World Series championship team, died Wednesday according to team officials. He was 59.
Flanagan, who made his debut as a relief pitcher for the O’s in 1975 and won the Cy Young award as a starting pitcher in 1979, was found at his Sparks property by Baltimore County Police according to Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost.
Armacost reported that law enforcement officers responded to a 911 call at 4:26 p.m. reporting a death in the 1500 block of York Road. According to Armacost, officers found a body on a trail leading to a barn on Flanagan’s property. How he died is still under investigation.
“I am so sorry to hear about Mike’s passing,” said Cal Ripken Jr., a former teammate of Flanagan. “He was a good friend and teammate and our thoughts are with Alex and his family.”
Flanagan, in his time with the Orioles organization, was a player, executive and broadcaster. During that span he became a face of the franchise and a fan favorite.
The crafty left-hander won 141 games as a hurler for the Orioles, including 23 in 1979 when he won the Cy Young Award and helped guide the O’s to the World Series—where they eventually fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games.
Later traded in 1987 to the Toronto Blue Jays, Flanagan would return to Baltimore as a relief pitcher in 1991, eventually throwing the final two outs ever recorded at Memorial Stadium—two strikeouts.
Inducted into the Orioles Hall-of-Fame in 1994, Flanagan would go on to serve as pitching coach during the 1995 and 1998 seasons before accepting a position as executive vice-president of the Orioles, a position he held—and relished—until his contract ran out in 2008.
“Mike was an Oriole through and through and he will be sorely missed by family, friends and fans,” Ripken said. “This is a sad day.”
