Sports Then and Now

Mike Flanagan won 141 games pitching for the Baltimore Orioles.

As a lifelong fan of the Baltimore Orioles it was such sad news hearing that one of the long-time faces of the O’s, Mike Flanagan, passed away this week at the age of 59. It was even sadder hearing that his death was result of a suicide.

Regardless of the circumstance of his death, Flanagan will be fondly remembered by Oriole fans for his performance as a player, broadcaster and member of the local community.

From the 1960s through the mid-1980s the Orioles were the most consistently successful team in Major League Baseball thanks to a focus on building through the minor league system, pitching and defense. Known as the “Oriole Way”, this focus resulted in three World Championships, six World Series appearances and 18 straight winning seasons.

A seventh round draft pick of the Orioles in 1973, Flanagan epitomized the Orioles during their era of success. As a homegrown product, he made his major league debut in 1975 and moved into the starting rotation in 1977.

After a 15-10 record in 1977, Flanagan won 19 games and was named to the All-Star squad in 1978.

In 1979, Flanagan replaced Jim Palmer as the ace of the Orioles’ pitching staff and won the American League Cy Young Award with a 23-9 record and 3.08 ERA. Baltimore reached the World Series that season and Flanagan went 1-1 as the O’s lost in seven games. Read the rest of this entry →

Happy 70th birthday to one of the all-time great Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles of the 1960s and early 1970s boasted a roster busting with stars from top to bottom. While Brooks and Frank Robinson were the two best players on the team, the most imposing figure was a 6-foot-4, 240 pound first baseman who hit towering home runs and picked throws out of the dirt with ease. It was that player, Boog Powell, who became a favorite to many young fans, including myself.

It is hard to believe that today is the 70^th birthday for one of the great sluggers of his era and we at Sports Then and Now want to wish a Happy Birthday to one of our all-time favorite players.

Given the super-sizing of professional baseball players in recent years, Powell’s size may no longer seem all that special, but in the 1960s and 1970 when most players were shaped like string beans, Powell was hard to miss. With tree trunks for arms that looked even larger when wearing the Orioles tight fitting gray uniform top, he spent more than a decade launching mammoth home runs and playing first base for the Baltimore Orioles.

A fair-skinned giant with reddish hair, Powell looked like a farm boy from the Midwest, but actually was born in Lakeland, Florida and grew up in the Sunshine State. Though his given name was John Wesley Powell, he earned the nickname “Boog” as a kid due to his mischievous nature. He seemed to always be getting into something and became known as Booger, as in, “What’s that little Booger doing now?” The nickname was eventually shortened to Boog, probably around the time he got big enough to beat the snot out of anyone who would dare call him Booger.

Powell’s prowess on the baseball field was evident from an early age. In 1954 he was part of the Lakeland Little League squad that played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Orioles in 1959, Powell quickly made his way to the majors. He led the International League in home runs in 1961 and made his major league debut that September.

The next season he became the starting leftfielder for the Birds and was an important reason the Orioles were steadily moving from perennial doormat to contender in the American League. Powell blasted 25 home runs in 1963 and the following season hit 39 homers and led the American League with a .606 slugging percentage despite missing several weeks with a broken wrist. Read the rest of this entry →

Mike Cuellar

We recognize as the Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month for August one of the key pitchers for the Baltimore Orioles during their championship run of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Sometimes timing is everything. After toiling away in the minors and on primarily losing teams for a decade, a seemingly insignificant trade following the 1968 season proved to be all that Mike Cuellar needed to become one of the top pitchers in baseball. Read the rest of this entry →

Should the Baltimore Orioles be shopping Jeremy Guthrie to a contender?

The Baltimore Orioles are in the midst of what looks like another losing season, their 14th straight. Ever since they fell to the Yankees in the playoffs in the late 90’s, they have been hapless. They have developed some nice players in Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters, but they lack one big thing.

Pitching.

The Orioles thought they were on the cusp of something when Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz were top prospects. Well, Arrieta has struggled while Matusz has had his own injury woes. Projects like Koji Uehara (in the rotation) and Kevin Millwood were fails. But while there have been struggles, they have found one constant.

Jeremy Guthrie has been a solid pitcher in Baltimore for years. In 2007 and 2008, Guthrie held his ERA in the 3’s and he gave the Orioles some much needed innings in their mess they called pitching. He had an awful 5.03 in 2009, coming off the World Baseball Classic and that may have been the cause of his setback. He rebounded last season for an ERA of 3.83, but a fear is beginning to settle in amongst Baltimore fans.

Are these young players getting too used to the losing atmosphere? Guthrie has an ERA of 4.35, nothing bad but not what he has been in his Orioles past. He certainly has not been as bad as his 4-13 record indicates. Is this a great chance to get a steal for a middle of the rotation starter?

Some teams like the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers need pitching. Both are in tight division races but lack pitching down the stretch or a usable rotation in a playoff series. Is Guthrie a pitcher they can get cheap? New York kicked the tires with Ubaldo Jimenez, but the price is much too high for an NL West pitcher who’s numbers have gone down dramatically this season.

Guthrie’s numbers are not terrific, but he has been able to hold his own in the very tough American League East. With his numbers down a bit, the Orioles would not be demanding much in return for him. This could be the Yankees chance to get a starter without giving up their prospects.

Guthrie is not going to win a Cy Young award. He is not going to throw many one or two hitters. But he can eat innings and be a very valuable #3 or #4 pitcher in a good rotation. And it is time he exits the losing culture that is the Orioles.

Lee May

The June Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is one of the forgotten sluggers of baseball history.

For more than a decade, Lee May was one of the most feared sluggers in baseball.  He blasted 20 or more home runs and drove in 80 or more runs for 11 straight seasons while playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles. Read the rest of this entry →

Just days after spending time in the hospital, Jeremy Guthrie allowed just one run in six innings against the Rangers.

Less than 24 hours after the two best teams in the American League split a Saturday doubleheader, the defending American League Champion Texas Rangers returned to Camden Yards for the rubber and final game of the three game series and proved that they deserve to be considered the best team in the American League after the first full week of the season.

The matchup between lefty Derek Holland (1-0, 4.50 ERA) and the Orioles opening starter, right hander Jeremy Guthrie (1-0, 0.00 ERA) made for an interesting story line.

Guthrie, getting his second start of the season after battling pneumonia like symptoms a few days prior, looked healthy walking around the clubhouse during the pregame routine.  Guthrie in his only start of the year against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowed only 2 hits, striking out 3 and walking 1. But this time he was facing a much more potent lineup with the Rangers.  In the second game of the Saturday doubleheader Texas tagged Oriole pitching for 13 hits including 3 home runs.

The Rangers have a team batting average of .306 against right-handers in this young season.  Josh Hamilton (.381) and Mitch Moreland (.333) are the offensive leaders.  The Orioles were hoping that Guthrie’s history of success against the Rangers would hold as he entered the game with a 3-0 record against Texas and the O’s were 4-3 against the Rangers when Guthrie has the hill.

The Orioles were facing southpaw Derek Holland who in his only start this season went 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs on 7 hits and striking out 5.  In 2010 Holland averaged 5 and 2/3 innings in his 10 games he started.  Holland previously hadn’t enjoyed much success against the Orioles with an 0-2 record.

However, so far this season the Orioles are batting just .180 as a team against left-handers with only has 2 players in the lineup batting over .300, Matt Wieters (.333) and J.J. Hardy (.333). Unfortunately, Hardy missed the Sunday game after leaving Saturday’s game with a strained left oblique muscle.  He will have an MRI Monday to diagnose the injury.  Replacing him at shortstop was Robert Andino, who was getting his first playing time of the season.

As it would turn out, Holland and the Rangers proved to be too much for the Orioles to overcome. The struggles against left-handed pitching continued as the Orioles were unable to capitalize on a number of chances. Read the rest of this entry →