Baltimore Orioles legend Earl Weaver passes away at 82

The Orioles world woke up to sad news this morning, with word coming through that Hall of Famer and baseball icon Earl Weaver has passed away. According to the article in the New York Daily News, he was on an Orioles fantasy cruise ans suffered a heart attack late last night.

I'm too young to have personally witnessed the managing career of Earl Weaver, but just like any Orioles fan I know exactly how important he is to this organization and to baseball. He was a sabermatrician before that term existed and he knew exactly how to get the most out of his players.

In his seventeen seasons managing the Orioles between 1968-1986, Earl led the team to four World Series (with one series win) and put up an overall record of 1480-1060. He only had one losing season, and that was in 1986 after he'd been lured out of retirement.

In addition to being a baseball genius, Earl Weaver was also known of course for his in your face personality and willingness to get into it with the umpires he felt weren't doing the Orioles justice. In an ESPN article in 2003 by Jim Caple, a paragraph reads:

He was ejected in the regular season. He was ejected in the playoffs. He was ejected in the World Series. He was ejected from both ends of a doubleheader -- three times. He was ejected before a game started -- twice. And he was creative. He once tore up the rule book and scattered its pages on the field. He once faked a heart attack. He once ripped up second base and carried it into the dugout.

Few sports figures have been loved in Baltimore as much as Earl Weaver. I invite you leave your thoughts or memories of him in the comments, and I leave you with this video from Earl's final game in 1982 after he announced his retirement.