Hargrove

CLEVELAND -- It was as if Mike Hargrove were personally engraving the Orioles' invitation to the American League Championship Series.The Orioles' response?"

WE, AS A culture, elevate entertainers and athletes to positions of high visibility. By virtue of this visibility, and the insatiable public desire to know every facet of their lives, they become part of our lives. Many have earned their celebrity by accomplishments in the arts or in the athletic arena. No one would deny that Michael Jordan, by virtue of his talent and class, has earned all of the adulation heaped upon him. When you fly higher than all those around you, but your feet remain firmly planted on the ground, you have earned the title "role model."

Chris Richard at first base. Melvin Mora at shortstop. Luis Matos in center field. B. J. Surhoff and Will Clark out the door. The challenge for fans at Camden Yards last night was figuring out which team was the Minnesota Twins. "The personality of the ballclub's obviously been changed," said Orioles manager Mike Hargrove. So has the lineup. Conceding that the organization has slipped into more of a "teaching mode" after two more trades, Hargrove watched his students defeat the Twins, 6-5, before 32,661.

The one-year anniversary of his firing by the Orioles comes Wednesday, and Mike Hargrove is biding his time, waiting for another chance to manage. He spent the season as a senior adviser for the Cleveland Indians, which gave him a chance to stay close to the game while basically enjoying his first summer off since 1971. But at age 54, he still has that desire to run his own team. "I'd like a another shot at getting to the World Series and winning a World Series," Hargrove said in a telephone interview last week.

Lanham -- Earl C. Hargrove Jr, the energetic, proud owner o Hargrove Inc., one of the nation's largest decorating and convention firms, has a visitor but is nowhere to be found."

BOSTON -- Mike Hargrove, fired as manager of the Cleveland Indians on Friday, said he would be "very interested" in the Anaheim job, and the team is expected to contact him about the possibility of replacing Terry Collins."

Senior U.S. District Judge John R. Hargrove Sr. was remembered yesterday for his dignity, courage and refreshing humor as he forged a model legal career during a period of great racial transition in Baltimore and the nation.More than 400 well-wishers and mourners, many of them from the state's legal and political establishment, gathered at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, where Cardinal William H. Keeler presided over a Mass of Christian burial for Hargrove, who died of a heart attack Tuesday at 73.Many stood in line for more than 30 minutes to view Hargrove's body and offer a hug or words of comfort to his wife, Shirley, and other family members.

Until the afternoon of Oct. 15, Mike Hargrove had been married to only one woman and managed for only one organization. That evening, he still had Sharon Hargrove, which still left him pretty far ahead of the game.Much has happened since Hargrove, 50, walked into the Cleveland Indians' front office that day to learn his 8 1/2 years as the team's manager were done. Less than three weeks after his firing, Hargrove landed on his feet Wednesday with a three-year, $3 million contract to manage the Orioles.

In a move that would have shocked both parties one month ago, the Orioles yesterday announced the hiring of Mike Hargrove as the 14th manager in franchise history.Hargrove, hired less than three weeks after being fired by the Cleveland Indians, agreed to a three-year, $3 million contract with an option for 2003, and will retain the majority of predecessor Ray Miller's coaching staff. Hargrove becomes the first $1 million manager in franchise history.Selected over incumbent third base coach Sam Perlozzo and Boston bench coach Grady Little, Hargrove's first act was to notify the Orioles coaches of their fate.

It was a slow walk Mike Hargrove perpetrated from the Orioles' dugout to the Camden Yards infield yesterday. It was the sixth inning, but it was about to become the last inning - for him anyway. He was calm, steady and deliberate - exactly the kind of walk a major league manager uses when, deep in his fed-up heart of hearts, he knows he is out to achieve one objective: To get himself swiftly, unequivocally, unrepentantly ejected. At glacial speed, Hargrove walked toward his final destination, pondering: What perfectly profane insult could he use on second base umpire Larry Vanover to convey his complete and utter displeasure?