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The Undertaker, 'The Wire' and Timmy Trumpet: How closers became MLB's ultimate showmen

WHEN MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS died in September 2021, members of the Baltimore Orioles creative content team vowed to find a way to pay homage to the actor who had brought to life Omar Little, the iconic character from the Baltimore-set television show "The Wire." In early August, after the Orioles traded closer Jorge Lopez to the Minnesota Twins, the opportunity finally presented itself.

Taking over for Lopez was Felix Bautista, a 6-foot-8, 280-pound leviathan nicknamed "The Mountain." Bautista, a 27-year-old right-handed rookie, had spent the season's first four months embarrassing hitters with a fastball that regularly topped 100 mph and a split-fingered fastball that dove as if it wanted to bore a hole in the dirt.