If you don't know who this is then I probably don't want to know. Fine! I'll tell you. Its none other than fellow Baltimore nobleman Earl Weaver, the Earl of Baltimore, doing what he did best.
There are quite a few Baltimore Oriole legends and this man stands right up there with the likes of Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson and all of the others. I suspect he might have more pull in the Baltimore area then I do, which is saying a lot.
But I bet most of you don't come here so you can read gushing praise about sports idols, so I will movie on. This video was shot when I was two years old and shows Weaver losing his shit after pitcher Mike Flanagan was called for a balk. The umpire that made the call was miked up for a documentary that was being filmed and as a result we have this wonderful time capsule of America's pastime.
Weaver was an excellent baseball manager but really excelled and arguing with umpires. Weaver has the distinction of being ejected from more Major League Baseball games than anyone else in American League history with 97.
After any dubious call, you would see this little man shoot out of the dug-out like a rocket. One of his signature moves was to turn his ball cap backwards so he could get right in the face of the ump and yell without touching him. He would also kick dirt on the umpire's shoes.
The best part of this video is that Earl won't let up. This video makes me laugh and well up with hometown pride every time I watch it.
Classic. I remember Dad telling me the story when he ripped up the rule book in front of the ump. Ohhhhhh the days of baseball when the Orioles were mildly interesting to watch. I'll never forget that looooong walk to Memorial Stadium when the cicadas (SP?) were around. I was petrified. Also what is werong with the neck-less guy at the end??? Creepy.
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