Baseball has respected Flanny, by not bringing it up... but as a result of that, I feared his story would be forgotten, which of course would be a tragedy in and of itself.
Hey man, please don’t ever stop making these videos. Your story telling ability is amazing and is very easy to get into, and the content alone is very unique and so interesting. Thank you so much for taking the time and doing such a good job.
The support for these videos has been incredible. I'll do my best to keep it going. It's amazing to me that complete strangers have gravitated to my ideas like this. That's the power of this great game, I suppose.
I continue to be blown away by the outstanding well researched videos you present on this channel. I love Flanagan’s nickname for his teammates. I had no idea that he had met his end so tragically. Even as a Blue Jays fan in Western Canada I have to admit that the Orioles are a team of the very near future. Thanks again for educating a long time student of baseball history. Who says this game is boring anyway?😀
Incredible work sir. May Mike rest in peace and watch these young Orioles take on the league from the heavens above. 12 years later Birdland still misses his presence. Go Os .
I missed most of these stories the first time around, too, but the characters from that era made the game larger than life. I find myself nostalgic about baseball games I never witnessed.
Great topic. I was 9 years old watching the World Series for the first time. Flanagan against Bruce Kison. Baseball was magical in those days…even as a Rangers fan.
incredibly well done and very touching tribute to a great player. I am blessed to have seen him pitch more than once, and was so saddened by his passing. thank you and please continue to produce great videos!
With regards to William Keough, I was on a school bus going to school and we saw Barry Rosen who was also a hostage in Iran, and all the kids on the bus had excitement and screamed like i never heard before.
In my formative years as a baseball fan, the 1970's, the Orioles were the model franchise. As a kid, before you learn more about the history of the game, you think it was always that way and will always be that way. The Orioles were always the team everyone had to beat if they wanted to win. Growing up in NYC, it's funny to think that at one time the Orioles were the powerhouse and the Yankees the underdogs. But in 100+ years of Browns/Orioles baseball you see how short their time of dominance really was--about 15 years. I wasn't primarily an Orioles fan (I rooted for the hopeless White Sox), but as an American League fan it seems I was always rooting for the Orioles at the end. I only have one baseball jersey in my collection--Brooks Robinson.
Man, was Flanny loved in Birdland. Great color guy on HTS. Such a sad tale ultimately. As someone once said, check on your happy friends too. They may be struggling.
My goodness. Came here just watching MLB stuff but found a fantastically well written and well worded piece with some profound moments. Keep up the good work Hatbilly.
Feel free to do a whole video about how places like WV continues to be shit on everyday. I live in TN and I'm continually appalled at how people blame us for the problems that were handed to us. Even people who live in these areas believe it's their own fault.
Well done! This gave me goose bumps. I figured from some of your other vids you were an Os fan, and since you talk a bit like the people I grew up with, I mistook you for a fellow Eastern Shoreman.
I appreciate it! I grew up in Southwest Virginia, but my dad was born in Maryland, so my dialect is probably a mix of both. The Orioles are a blue collar franchise with roots in Southern Appalachia, it wouldn't make any sense to cheer for another team.
I have been an Orioles fan since 1980. The good, the bad, and the ugly have spanned those four decades at various times, but "Flanny's (Flanny) death was the most heartbreaking moment I have ever experienced. 24 August 2011 was initially a new start in life for me; smiles and hope were the flavor of the day and then I decided to watch the Orioles game..... Needless to say it was gut-wrenching watching so many of my childhood favorites break down before me, myself included as well. I have dealt with depression, anxiety, ADD, and drug addiction most of my life. Thankfully I now have 21 years clean from heroin and STILL see a therapist every week because I will never be perfect, and do not want to carry pain around like a badge anymore. Unfortunately Mike was unable to, at the very least, identify his Demons to a point of dealing with the issue, or if he had it was too much in the end. I will always love Mike, despite never meeting him, because he WAS my childhood, through my early 30's, part of my beloved Orioles in one form or another. It has been over 10 years since Mike passed away, and since then I have lost an adult son, a pain I cannot express through words alone. Much like death, being an Orioles fan has brought much pain, but not in the same way as death itself, but it is relatable in the sense that once it happens nothing can change it, period. I only hope the future is as bright as it appears, and the ghosts of 1969, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1996, 1997, and the entire time between 1998-2011, not to mention 2014's staggering defeat to KC, will forever be banished to time, and with a new World Series title they dedicate the memory to Mike, and retire # 46 permanently. I am sorry this was a short novel but emotions run high with not only the Orioles, but the loss of Mike as well.....
Thanks for sharing your inspirational story and how it was intersected by Flanagan and the many memorable teams he was a part of. The pain we bring into our lives by following sports teams can be much greater than we expect in such tragic times. It's a genuine attachment.
This is my dad. I am YouTubing videos for my kids now that they are playing baseball and I can’t let this go - You should know that Alex Flanagan, is not at all a credible source for accurate information. Especially at the end of my dad’s life.
Hey Katie, I apologize for the inaccuracies. That was taken from the original reporting on the matter. Unfortunately, I can't edit these videos without taking them down. I'm considering writing a book on this era of the Orioles, and I would love to discuss it with you sometime, at your convenience: milbhatbilly@gmail.com
Also in that 1973 draft, the O's picked Mike Parrott, who led the Mariners in WAR in 1979, and Jerry Garvin (who didn't sign), who led the Blue Jays in WAR in 1977. Kudos the scouting department that year.
Hey Hatbilly, these are fabulous. I'm an audio engineer and I'm looking to take on some new collaborative projects. I'd love to help you out with these. Message me if you're interested. And in any event, don't stop, these are awesome!
Hey man, sorry I accidentally overlooked this comment for a bit. 😅 At some point I would definitely like to add some new tracks to my arsenal for use in these videos. I'll definitely hit you up!
Flanagan was a great very smart pitcher, I can remember in his hey day when I believe he won 23 games or something one year......I remember his entire career well and I hated when the Orioles let him to go Toronto even though they were rebuilding in 1987, I just always felt he should have been a career Oriole
Nice content and well-earned by Mike Flanagan. God rest his tortured soul. I believe God accepted Mike into Heaven. Seeing Jim Palmer broadcast about Mike's death was painful and sobering, as I saw it it on another channel. Thank you for sharing.
Man, I'm so impressed with this. You honor Flanagan, make a cogent political statement, and appeal for those suffering with mental health issues to get help. Bless you foor this great content.
As a White Sox fan through and thru… I didn’t enjoy what the Birds did to my ChiSox!!! I did enjoy Flanagan, Dempsey, and Palmer. I feared/respected Murray and I LOVED the Orange jerseys. Thank you for providing some excellent backstory. Well done indeed!
