Orioles Hire Two GMs

Rather than put only one person in charge, the Baltimore Orioles hired Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan to turn around a franchise mired in a run of five consecutive losing seasons.

Beattie on Wednesday was hired as executive vice president of baseball operations. He will work with Flanagan, who was hired to succeed Syd Thrift as vice president of baseball operations.

The former major league pitchers will fill the job commonly known as general manager.

“The belief is that the job has grown to be very large, very complex, very diverse,” said Joe Foss, the Orioles’ chief operating officer.

“You really need at least two people at the most senior levels of a baseball organization to be able to meet all the challenges of the job.”

Beattie, 48, pitched nine years in the majors with the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.

He was director of player development with the Mariners from 1989-94, then was vice president and general manager of the Montreal Expos from 1995-2001.

Flanagan, 50, is a former Oriole left-hander who served as a TV broadcaster for the team the last four years.

He doesn’t have the front-office knowledge that Beattie does, but is thought to have a better grasp of the Orioles and their minor league system.

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Third baseman Robin Ventura and the Yankees reached a preliminary agreement on a $5-million, one-year contract.

Ventura, 35, must pass a physical for the deal to be finalized, a Yankee official said on the condition of anonymity.

Ventura batted .247 with 27 homers and 93 runs batted in last season, his first with the Yankees, who acquired him from the New York Mets in a three-way trade in December 2001.

Ventura earned $8.25 million in 2002.