Former Orioles manager Earl Weaver dies at 82

Earl Weaver penned his own epitaph.

"On my tombstone just write, ‘The sorest loser that ever lived,’ " he once said.

Weaver, the Orioles’ irascible, chain-smoking, umpire-baiting manager who led the team to four American League pennants and the 1970 world championship in his 17 years here, died Friday night while on an Orioles-themed cruise.

The Hall of Famer was 82.

He piloted the Orioles from 1968 to 1982, and in 1985-86, earning nicknames like "the little genius" and "the Earl of Baltimore." Weaver’s teams won 1,480 games and lost 1,060, and his lifetime winning percentage (.583) ranks ninth all-time and fifth among managers in the modern era who managed 10 years or more. Five times, Baltimore won at least 100 games for Weaver, who stood 5-feet-7 but was a legend to his players.

"Having Earl gives us a four-game lead on everybody," pitcher Sammy Stewart once said.

The Orioles failed to post a winning record under him only once (1986). His career was defined by an affinity for the three-run home run and a long-running, public feud with superstar pitcher Jim Palmer that both men jokingly played to whenever together.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-orioles-earl-weaver-dead,0,1452570.story

RIP, Earl.