Michael Kendall Flanagan (December 16, 1951 – August 24, 2011) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, front office executive, and color commentator. He spent 18 years as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles (1975–1987, 1991–1992) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1987–1990).
Flanagan was a starting pitcher for the Orioles from 1975 through 1987. He was named to the American League (AL) All-Star Team once in 1978. In 1979, the first of two years he would play on an AL pennant winner, his 23 victories led the circuit and earned him the AL's Cy Young Award. He was a member of the Orioles' World Series Championship team in 1983. During the 1987 season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, with whom he pitched through 1990. He returned to Baltimore to close out his playing career as a relief pitcher in 1991 and 1992. During this second tour, he combined with three other pitchers to throw a no-hitter against the Oakland Athletics on July 13, 1991. He was also the last Orioles pitcher to appear in a major-league contest at Memorial Stadium. In an 18-season career, Flanagan posted a 167–143 record with 1,491 strikeouts and a 3.90 earned run average in 2,770 innings pitched.
He served in three different positions with the Orioles after his retirement as an active player. He was the pitching coach in 1995 and 1998 and the executive vice president of baseball operations from 2006 through 2008. At the time of his death, he was one of the team's broadcasters, a role he had previously held three times (1994, 1996–1997, and 1999–2002).
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Early years
Born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, Mike was one of four children born to Ed and Lorraine Flanagan, the younger of their two sons. His grandfather, Ed Sr., had been a pitcher in the Boston Braves organization who could throw with both hands, and his father Ed had played minor league ball in the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers systems. Ed died on December 13, 2020. Under their tutelage, Flanagan once struck out 18 batters in a six inning Little League game.
Flanagan graduated from Manchester (NH) Memorial High School, where he was on the baseball and basketball teams that each won consecutive New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) Class L titles in 1970 and 1971. His pitching was limited in 1971 because of a left elbow injury he had sustained while playing American Legion Baseball for the local Henry J. Sweeney Post the previous summer. This factored into him not signing a contract after he was picked by the Houston Astros in the 15th round (346th overall) of the 1971 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.
University of Massachusetts
Flanagan attended the University of Massachusetts (UMass), where he played baseball for the Minutemen in 1972 and 1973. He was a first-team All-Yankee Conference and first team All-New England selection in 1973, when he posted a 9–1 record with a 1.72 earned run average and 89 strikeouts, leading the Yankee Conference in all three categories. His .900 winning percentage was the best school single-season mark until Scott Meaney had a 6–0 record in 1990. Flanagan had a career earned run average of 1.19 and a career winning percentage of .923 (12–1), which are both still the best marks in school history. In addition to pitching for UMass, Flanagan played in the outfield. Offensively, he batted .320 in 128 at bats with six home runs and 29 runs batted in.
As a freshman, Flanagan played basketball at UMass on the same Freshmen team as Rick Pitino. Flanagan and Pitino crossed paths with Julius Erving, who was a junior on the Varsity at the time. Flanagan said, "I really didn't know much about Dr. J until I came down on a fast break and pulled up to take a jump shot. Dr. J was nowhere in the area but, out of nowhere, he blocked the shot and nine players were running the other way. First thing I thought? Better work on my slider, because this is a whole different level of play." He received his degree from the UMass College of Education in 1975, and he was inducted into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
He was a pitcher and outfielder for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) during the summer of 1972. On the mound, he had a 7–1 record and a 2.18 ERA, while at the plate he batted .286 with 7 home runs. He was a member of the CCBL's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2000.
Professional career
Baltimore Orioles (1975–1987)
Flanagan was selected again in the 1973 MLB draft, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the 7th round (159th overall). When he signed with the Orioles, the ball club agreed to finance the remainder of his college education. He progressed through the organization, with stops at Class A Miami (1973–1974), Class AA Asheville (1974), and Class AAA Rochester, where he went 13–4 with a 2.50 earned run average in 1975.
His MLB career began with two appearances against the New York Yankees in the last month of the 1975 campaign. He made his debut pitching 1+2⁄3 innings in relief of starter Wayne Garland in a 5–4 victory in the opener of a twi-night doubleheader at Memorial Stadium on September 5. His first start and decision was a 3–2 loss at Shea Stadium in the nightcap of another twin bill 23 days later on September 28 which was the final game of the regular season. He was on the verge of a shutout until the bottom of the ninth when the first three batters he faced reached base and Dyar Miller allowed all of them to score on a single and an error.
Flanagan's 1976 campaign was split between Rochester and Baltimore. He did not get his first Major League win until a 7–1 complete-game triumph at home over the eventual American League (AL) West champion Kansas City Royals on September 1. In 20 games (10 starts), he had a 3–5 record, a 4.13 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 33 walks, and 83 hits allowed in 85 innings pitched.
By 1977, Flanagan was serving as a starting pitcher full-time; the season was the first of four straight in which he would pitch at least 230 innings. On May 14, he threw his first career shutout, holding the Oakland Athletics to five hits in a 2–0 victory at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. He had 13 strikeouts on September 27 when the Orioles defeated the Detroit Tigers 6–1. In 36 games (33 starts), he had a 15–10 record, a 3.64 ERA, 149 strikeouts, 70 walks, and 235 hits allowed in 235 innings.
In 1978, Flanagan was the Orioles' Opening Day starter, the only year from 1974 through 1980 that Jim Palmer did not make the Opening Day start for Baltimore. Flanagan had a 10–1 record from May 5 through June 22, 1978, including a six-game winning streak from May 31 through June 22. He was selected to his only All-Star Game in 1978 after posting a 12–6 record and a 3.16 earned run average before the All-Star Break. Three times he pitch over nine innings in a game: 11 on June 13 in a 3–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, 11 on July 17 in a 2–0 loss to the Texas Rangers, and 9+2⁄3 on September 22 in a 7–5 loss to the Tigers. He was not quite as effective in the second part of the season. His record was just 7–9 and his earned run average was 4.60. Towards the end of the season, on September 26, he was one out away from pitching a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians, with the Orioles leading 3–0. Then, Gary Alexander hit a home run. After the next two batters singled, bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate, manager Earl Weaver replaced Flanagan with Don Stanhouse, who struck out the next hitter to preserve the victory. Flanagan was a workhorse for the Orioles in 1978, tying with Dennis Leonard for the AL lead with 40 games started and ranking fourth in the AL with 281+1⁄3 innings pitched (behind teammate Palmer's 296, Leonard's 294+2⁄3, and Mike Caldwell's 293+1⁄3), though he also led the AL in earned runs allowed with 126. His 19 wins were tied with Paul Splittorff for seventh in the AL, and he also tied with four others for fifth in the AL with 15 losses. He had a 4.03 earned run average and ranked fourth in the AL with 167 strikeouts (behind Nolan Ryan's 260, Ron Guidry's 248, and Leonard's 183).
Toronto Blue Jays (1987–1990)
Flanagan had been quite successful against Toronto in his career, as his 17–10 record was the best of any pitcher against the franchise since they were created in 1977. He was traded from the Orioles to the Toronto Blue Jays for Oswaldo Peraza on August 31, 1987, in a transaction that was completed four days later on September 4 when José Mesa was sent to Baltimore. When Flanagan joined the Blue Jays, the team released Phil Niekro to make room for him on their roster. His most memorable performance with the Blue Jays took place at Tiger Stadium on October 3, 1987, the penultimate game of the regular season. With Toronto in a first-place tie with Detroit and having lost its last five contests, Flanagan outlasted Jack Morris by pitching 11 innings before departing with the match deadlocked at 2–2. The Blue Jays ended up losing the game 3–2 one inning later and the AL East championship the following afternoon. Morris said after the game, "Flanagan was so great, so competitive, that I considered my job to be survival – somehow keep us tied until he left the game. We weren't going to get to the playoffs beating him, we could only get there surviving him." In seven games (all starts) for the Blue Jays in 1987, he had a 3–2 record and a 2.37 ERA. His combined stats between Baltimore and Toronto that season were a 6–8 record, a 4.06 ERA, 93 strikeouts, 51 walks, and 148 hits allowed in 144 innings over 23 games (all starts).
Against the Tigers on June 26, 1988, Flanagan won his 150th game, holding Detroit to one run over eight innings in a 4–1 victory. Healthy all season, he pitched 211 innings, topping the 200-inning mark for the first time since 1984 and last time in his career. He also won 10 or more games for the eighth and last time in his career. In 34 games (all starts), he had a 13–13 record, a 4.18 ERA, 99 strikeouts, 80 walks, and 220 hits allowed.
Though his record was only 6–6, Flanagan had a 3.33 earned run average for the Blue Jays through July 21, 1989. Thereafter, he posted a 5.02 ERA, going 2–4. In 30 games (all starts), he had an 8–10 record, a 3.93 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 47 walks, and 186 hits allowed in 171+2⁄3 innings. Even though he had a losing record, the Blue Jays won the AL East, and Flanagan had his only postseason experience with the Blue Jays. Starting Game 4 in the ALCS against the Athletics, he pitched 4+1⁄3 innings, giving up five runs and three home runs. One of the latter was Jose Canseco's 480-foot (146.30 meters) shot in the third inning, which was the first home run to land in the top deck of the SkyDome. He took the loss in the game, and the Athletics went on to win the series in five games.
Second stint with the Baltimore Orioles (1991–1992)
After being invited to Oriole training camp on a minor league contract in 1991, Flanagan made the team as a relief pitcher. His best moment as a reliever came on July 13 against Oakland. He was called to the plate in the seventh inning after starter Bob Milacki, who had thrown six no-hit innings, was struck by a line drive and had to leave the game. Flanagan walked one but pitched a hitless seventh, middle reliever Mark Williamson pitched a hitless eighth, and closer Gregg Olson pitched a hitless ninth, giving the four a combined no-hitter. On September 27, manager Johnny Oates brought him in to record the last two outs by an Oriole pitcher in the final baseball game played at Memorial Stadium, a 7–1 loss to the Tigers. In 64 games (just one of which was a start), he had a 2–7 record, a 2.38 ERA, 55 strikeouts, 25 walks, and 84 hits allowed in 98+1⁄3 innings. He also recorded three saves, giving him a total of four in his career, as he had previously recorded one in 1977.
Baltimore's first season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 1992, was Flanagan's last. He appeared in his final game on September 27, pitching two scoreless innings in a 6–1 loss to the Red Sox. In 42 games, all in relief, he had no record, an 8.05 ERA, 17 strikeouts, 23 walks, and 50 hits allowed in 34+2⁄3 innings.
Legacy
In an 18-season career, Flanagan posted a 167–143 record with a 3.90 ERA, 1,491 strikeouts, 890 walks, and 2,806 hits allowed in 2,770 innings pitched. He ranks among the Orioles' all-time leaders in many categories. His 143 wins rank fourth (behind Palmer's 268, Dave McNally's 181, and Mike Mussina's 147) and his 1,297 strikeouts rank fourth (behind Palmer's 2,212, Mussina's 1,535, and McNally's 1,476). He is third with 328 games started (behind Palmer's 521 and McNally's 384) and third with 2,317+2⁄3 innings pitched (behind Palmer's 3,948 and McNally's 2,652+2⁄3). Flanagan also ranks 10th with 98 complete games and 17 shutouts. Among the franchise's single-season record-holders, his 23 wins in 1979 are tied with Mike Cuellar's 1969 total and Palmer's 1975 total for sixth-best and his 40 starts in 1978 are tied with several others for first. The Orioles inducted Flanagan into their Hall of Fame in 1994.
Sense of humor
Flanagan was noted for his sense of humor, especially when it involved using puns to create nicknames. In his baseball column in the Sunday issues of The Boston Globe during the late-1970s, Peter Gammons ran a regular feature called the "Mike Flanagan Nickname of the Week". One example was John "Clams" Castino, which was a play on clams casino. Another was "Mordecai Six Toe" Lezcano, based on Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and given to Sixto Lezcano. When the Blue Jays allowed Tony Solaita to sign with the Nippon-Ham Fighters after the 1979 campaign, he was dubbed "Tony Obsolaita". During the 1980 season, Flanagan called himself "Cy Young", Jim Palmer "Cy Old", Steve Stone "Cy Present" and Scott McGregor "Cy Future". When Storm Davis, whose pitching motion resembled Palmer's, joined the Orioles two years later in 1982, he was "Cy Clone". Flanagan added that pitchers became "Cy-bex" if they were injured and "Cy-onara" when they were no longer effective. Two monikers that stuck were "Full Pack" and "Stan the Man Unusual", both of which were coined for Don Stanhouse; the former nickname referred to the relief pitcher's causing manager Earl Weaver to smoke a full pack of cigarettes while Stanhouse was pitching, and the latter nickname was a play on "Stan the Man" Musial's nickname. This nickname concept was later popularized by ESPN's Chris Berman, who was inspired by the feature in Gammons' column.
Post-playing days
After his playing career ended, Flanagan remained involved with the Orioles in various capacities. His career as a color commentator on Orioles telecasts began when he made broadcasts for Home Team Sports (HTS) in 1994. In 1995, he served as the Orioles pitching coach under manager Phil Regan. After that, he was appointed by HTS as the color commentator alongside Mel Proctor in early January 1996, following the controversial dismissal of John Lowenstein, a former Oriole teammate of Flanagan's. He also teamed with Michael Reghi in 1997. In 1998, he was succeeded by Rick Cerone as he again became the pitching coach for the Orioles, this time under Miller.
Flanagan rejoined Reghi in the broadcast booth in 1999. He continued as a commentator through the 2002 season, during which HTS evolved into Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. After the 2002 season, Buck Martinez was hired as a broadcaster, as Flanagan and Jim Beattie were named co-vice presidents of baseball operations for the Orioles in December 2002. When Beattie was dismissed following the 2005 season, Flanagan became the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations, a position equal to the status of general manager. He served in this role until 2007, when Andy MacPhail replaced him as the team's top executive. Flanagan remained with the team in a lesser capacity until his contract expired after the 2008 season.
In 2010, Flanagan went back behind the microphone, joining the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) as the Orioles' secondary analyst after Martinez became the Blue Jays' lead broadcaster on Rogers Sportsnet. Both Flanagan and Palmer provided color commentary along with rotating play-by-play announcers Gary Thorne and Jim Hunter through the 2011 season.
Pitching style
Flanagan's pitch selection included a slow curve, a heavy sinker, a fastball, and the changeup McGregor taught him in 1979. According to Rick Dempsey, who caught Flanagan with the Orioles, "On the days he didn't have good stuff, he just kept coming at you. He would change his rhythm, change his speed, drop down, throw a sidearm curveball—use every weapon in his arsenal to get you out. And then on the days when he had good stuff, you had no chance against him." His fastball was not one of baseball's fastest, but he compensated for this by relying on the other three pitches to win ballgames.
Personal life
Flanagan married his first wife, Kathy Walsh, in January 1977. Their oldest daughter Kerry Ellen was the fourth American born through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the first IVF baby not born by Caesarean section. The conception was performed at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. She was born at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center on July 9, 1982. Mike and Kathy had a second daughter, Kathryn "Katie" Kendall. Later, they divorced, and Mike married Alex Lynn Brienza, with whom he had a third daughter, Kendall.
Death
When Flanagan's wife Alex did not hear from her husband on August 24, 2011, she phoned a neighbor for help. The neighbor went to the home and called 9-1-1 after failing to find him. Police discovered a body on the property but could not immediately determine the identity because the wounds were so severe. The body was later identified as Flanagan, with the cause of death determined to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
Police said that Flanagan was distressed about financial issues. WBAL-TV reported that Flanagan was still despondent about his perceived failures during his tenure in the Orioles' front office. About one year after her husband's death, Alex Flanagan told Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun that her husband had struggled with depression, seeing a therapist for over 20 years. She also said that he had an alcohol problem.
The Orioles wore a black patch bearing the text "Flanny" on the right sleeves of their jerseys for the rest of the 2011 season in tribute. After 2012, the Baltimore Orioles kept Flanagan's number 46 out of circulation until 2024, when it was worn by Craig Kimbrel. Jeremy Guthrie was previously the last player to wear the number in 2011.