A collection of Mike Flanagan quotes

After learning of Mike Flanagan's death on Wednesday night I spent some time looking back through past pieces I'd written that included mentions of Flanagan. Here are a collection of quotes from the former Orioles lefty that give a sense of the man.

On the 1983 Orioles

"It makes you realize how much time has passed -- a big chunk of your lifetime -- since this team was really a winner. Actually, 1983 is the last time this organization was really happy. We were so close and loose, smart about the game, beating clubs with more talent. We lost the first game of the '83 ALCS. The next night it's 7:28 p.m. The TV announcers were saying, 'Where are the Orioles? They're not on the field yet. They must be in disarray after losing Game 1.' We were at the door of the clubhouse, packed together, watching 'Wheel of Fortune.' We're yelling, 'Pick a vowel!' Finally, somebody figured out the puzzle and we all barreled out the door."

From a 2007 Thomas Boswell column about an '83 Orioles Reunion

On Rex Barney's death

"You're never prepared for this. There are certain constants that are always supposed to be there, and Rex is one of them."

Read more: Baltimore had its own Bob Sheppard in the legendary Rex Barney

On playing Little League baseball

Flanagan received the Bill Shea Distinguished Little League Graduate Award in 2006

“When I was 12, my team was one game away from playing in the World Series. Every year I watch the World Series games. Seeing those teams play brings back early baseball memories like putting on my uniform and the team atmosphere. I took a lot of steps from Little League to the Major Leagues, and it was a great journey. Certainly starting off in Little League gave me a great foundation for what goes on in the sport – I loved it.”

On what he would ask the Queen of England when she visited Memorial Stadium in 1991

"I'd ask her how I should hold my slider."

Read more: Putting the "O" in Royal for Queen Elizabeth 

On losing a no-hitter on a two-out home run in the ninth inning

"The pitch was not really where I wanted it."

Read more: Baltimore no-hitters, and "The Summer of the Near-Miss"

On "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"

Orioles’ current general manager Mike Flanagan, a Cy Young Award winner for Baltimore in 1979, said his teammates liked the song because it served as a daily wakeup call. It reminded them that if they were down, they still had nine outs and plenty of time to come back"

Read more: Flashback Friday: Thank God I'm a Country Boy Edition

On pitching in the big leagues (advice for a rookie pitcher)

"It was funny, I got to the clubhouse and I remember Mike Flanagan coming up to me, patting me on the back, saying, 'Oh yeah, welcome to the big leagues, even the outs here are hard.'" Brown says those words from a fellow New Hampshire resident meant a lot to him, as did the treatment he received during each of his five summers in the Baltimore chain.

Read more: He earned one career victory, and it came against the Red Sox

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