Mike Flanagan, 1951-2011

The Baltimore Orioles won 7-1 last night in Minnesota, finally winning a road series on the back of the offense and an excellent start by Jeremy Guthrie; however, the victory was overshadowed by some terrible news that struck pretty much every fan in the region.

Reports surfaced that Mike Flanagan - MASN Broadcaster, former Oriole pitcher, coach and executive - was found dead on his property early yesterday evening.

I figured the terrible news was true, but as nothing official came out from the team or with the major paper in town (at the time), I thought it could have been a mistake or it might have been some drifter, drunk, etc.

It was not.

Flanagan was indeed dead at 59 years old. I remarked to a friend, "I saw just him the other day on TV. Did he die of a heart attack, aneurysm or something like that?". He looked healthy, alert and I didn't see anything to indicate any health issues.

Then, I heard on the radio this morning that his death was a result of a suicide. If that's true, it is even more saddening.

Then again, it doesn't matter the way Flanagan died -- all I know is that he seemed to touch a lot of people's lives and he is no longer here.

I can only say that I met him once as a fan - where I got his autograph - and also several times as a blogger during team sponsored events, such as "Blogger Day". He seemed like a good guy, down-to-earth, with a sardonic sense of humor and definitely knew the game -- in and out.

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