Former Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan, a Cy Young Award winner who became a television announcer and top executive with the club, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday afternoon, according to police.

Flanagan’s wife, Alex, who was out of town, last spoke to Flanagan around 1 a.m. Wednesday, county police said Thursday. Flanagan had sounded upset, and when she didn’t hear from the him the next day, she asked a neighbor to check on him. Police found Flanagan’s body around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on a trail leading to a barn at Flanagan’s home in the 15000 block of York Road in Sparks.

Police said Thursday that Flanagan had been upset about financial issues.

Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson told The Sun Thursday that investigators informed him that Flanagan’s death was an apparent suicide. “I was contacted late afternoon [Wednesday] and informed that it appears we had a suicide involving former Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan,” Johnson said.

Police confirmed Thursday that Flanagan, 59, appeared to have shot himself in the face, making identification difficult and causing official confirmation of his death to be delayed. Read the rest