It's Reported that Mike Flanagan Has Died

[ironmanfan]

Very sad..........One of my favorite Orioles of all time

http://www.wbaltv.com/sports/28967968/detail.html

[geoff]

I talked with him last month at the stadium and was always nice when I met him and got his autograph each time.I even saw him in Walmart and said hi over the winter and he was even nice there to me there.

[ironmanfan]

I have the ball that the Orioles' Rich Dauer hit for an exciting game winning home run vs. Cleveland back in 1982 (Earl Weaver Day) that gave Mike Flanagan his 100th career victory. The ball was always special to me not only because I was there that fall afternoon at Memorial Stadium but because 1982 was also my favorite Orioles' season....I took the ball out of it's case tonight and took another look at it, this time with a heavy heart...

[ksfarmboy]

That's too sad. I remember as a kid following Flanagan and the Orioles during that special 1979 season. Definitely have a heavy heart today.

[gingi79]

Another athlete on the top stage kills himself. I'm going to throw out a suggestion to all the major sports and athletes that research should be done on the brains of ALL deceased athletes.

A hypothesis can be made there is something abnormal, perhaps on the genetic level that causes a pre-desposition towards depression in this group of people. A disproportionate number of ex-athletes suffer from feelings of helplessness (I need to find the article I read about this) and depression for reasons that range from no longer being the center of attention to money to unknown personal reasons.

No matter who it is, it sucks.

[Mark17]

I'd like to see actual statistical analysis that the rate of suicide is higher among athletes vs. the general population, before going off on theories and explanations.

When some guy kills himself 5 miles from your home, chances are you don't even hear about it. But if it's one of the 10,000 or so guys who have been on a baseball card the past 30 years, it's nationwide news and we ALL hear about it.

Flanagan had been retired for quite awhile. It would seem to me he had plenty of time, decades in fact, to get used to life after baseball.

It's very sad. I'd leave it at that.

[xpress34]

From what I had read, Flanagan was despondent over comments made to him from fans that the Orioles demise during his tenure as GM was all his fault - many saying that they even hated him because they felt he had destroyed the franchise.

That can't be easy for anyone to deal with regardless of the time they have had away from the game.

- Smitty

[MarkakisMania]

From what I had read, Flanagan was despondent over comments made to him from fans that the Orioles demise during his tenure as GM was all his fault - many saying that they even hated him because they felt he had destroyed the franchise.

That can't be easy for anyone to deal with regardless of the time they have had away from the game.

- Smitty

While I suppose there is an idiot or two everywhere, having lived in this region for over 35 years I can say that to the best of my knowledge nobody blamed Flanagan for the demise of the Orioles. He was but one more pawn in the clasp of the Orioles village idiot owner Peter Angelos who has single handidly ruined a once proud franchise.

Angelos is a cancer and has destroyed this team the blame rests on his shoulders and anybody with any sense in Baltimore knows it begins and ends right there

God rest Mike Flanagans soul. I hope he found the peace he was seeking.

Jeb