Unpossible Autograph Friday- Kevin Hickey

The Orioles family lost another member this week when former pitcher Kevin Hickey passed away. He had been employed as the White Sox batting practice pitcher and was found unresponsive in his hotel room on Opening Day, April 5, 2012. Apparently, he was a diabetic and his health issues stemmed from that; he remained in a coma until passing away on Wednesday. He was only 56.

I've read quite a lot about him in recent days and his rise to the big leagues was a true underdog story. It seems as though he played little to no baseball growing up and was more of a softball player. He attended an open tryout held by the White Sox in 1977 or '78 and they signed him to a deal. He pitched for the White Sox from 1981-83 and then toiled in the minor leagues for five years before rising back to the Major Leagues with the Orioles in 1989. He was a major member of the "Why Not" team that almost made the playoffs after having been horrible in 1988. Kevin stuck with the O's for two plus seasons and retired after the 1991 season. Over his six seasons in the Majors, he had a 9-14 record with a 3.91 ERA over 231 games, which is pretty amazing for a "softball player".

After his baseball career ended, Kevin worked as a car salesman, and made an appearance in the movie Major League II.

Rest in Peace Kevin, thanks for the memories.


To briefly explain the misspelled/made up title of these weekly posts: Every Friday, I profile a former Oriole who has passed away. I've substituted the word unpossible for impossible as an homage to a line from "The Simpsons". Young Ralph Wiggum, who is as sharp as a bowling ball, says "Me fail English? That's unpossible."