Earl Weaver, former Orioles manager, dies at 82

BALTIMORE - Earl Weaver penned his own epitaph.

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

Mr. Weaver, 82, the Baltimore 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 with the team, died Friday night while on a baseball-themed cruise.

The Hall of Famer piloted the Orioles from 1968 to 1982 and in 1985-86, earning nicknames like "the little genius" and "the Earl of Baltimore." Mr. 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 Mr. Weaver, who stood 5-foot-7 but was a legend to his players.

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

"Every time I look at an Oriole now, it's going to be missing a feather without Earl," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

The Orioles failed to post a winning record under Mr. Weaver 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.

Mr. Weaver was always a fan favorite, and the Orioles faithful got several opportunities to let him know that during the course of the team's uplifting 2012 season. He returned to Baltimore repeatedly to take part in the special series of statue unveilings in the center-field plaza at Oriole Park, including the one that was dedicated to him on June 30.

"There weren't any gray areas with Earl," Palmer said Saturday. "We had a love-hate relationship. Earl was going to tell you what he expected, and there wasn't a lot of room for error with him."

Mr. Weaver's quick temper got him ejected from more than 90 games during his major-league managerial career. He was famous for his protracted and animated disagreements with umpires, many of which ended with Mr. Weaver hurling away his hat or kicking dirt on the shoes of the offending official.