Orioles Vice President of baseball operations Flanagan attends a news conference to announce that the Orioles have fired manager Perlozzo, in Baltimore
Baltimore Orioles Vice President of baseball operations Mike Flanagan attends a news conference to announce that the Orioles have fired manager Sam Perlozzo, in Baltimore, Maryland June 18, 2007. Dave Trembley has been named as interim manager by the club. Reuters

The death of former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and Cy Young Award winner Mike Flanagan was ruled a suicide as a result of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head, the Maryland medical examiner said on Thursday.

According to Baltimore County police, no note was found but an investigation showed that Flanagan, 59, who was found dead on Wednesday, had been upset about financial issues.

The police said in a statement that Alex Flanagan had last spoken to her husband at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

She told police he sounded upset and promised he would talk to her the next day, the statement read. When she did not hear from him, she called a neighbor to check on him.

When the neighbor could not locate Flanagan she called police, who eventually located the former major leaguer about 250 feet behind his home.

Flanagan won 167 games in 18 Major League Baseball seasons, including an American League-leading 23 games in 1979. He was a member of the Orioles team that won the 1983 World Series.

He also served as the Orioles pitching coach, executive vice president of baseball operations and was in his second season as color analyst on the Orioles television broadcasts.

Flanagan, a left-hander who ended his playing career with a 3.90 ERA, also pitched three seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Flanagan family issued a statement on Thursday which read: We thank you for your support and kind words at this difficult time. Thank you for respecting our privacy as we grieve. A private memorial will be held at a later date.

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