Major League Baseball lost another legend on Monday when Don Baylor passed away at the age of 68. Baylor was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer formed by malignant plasma cells, back in 2003. He battled the disease for 14 years before succumbing.
Don Baylor: Player
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The Baltimore Orioles drafted Baylor in the 2nd round of the 1967 MLB draft straight out of high school. He made his debut three years later as a 21-year-old September call up. Baylor only played in eight games in 1970 and one in 1971, but he by 1972, he was here to stay. He played all three outfield positions as well as first base that year before becoming Baltimore’s regular left fielder for the next three years.
Baylor was traded to the Oakland Athletics in April, 1976 in the move that sent Reggie Jackson east. He became a free agent after that season and signed with the California Angels, where he spent six seasons. He signed with the Yankees after the 1982 season and stayed in New York until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox before the 1986 season. The very next season, the Red Sox traded Baylor to the Twins on September 1, and he won his only World Series just a little over a month later. He was released by the Twins in the offseason and he signed on with the Athletics for his second sting in Oakland for what turned out to be his 19th and final season in the big leagues.
Baylor was known to crowd the plate and he led the American League in getting hit by pitch eight times. He finished his career getting hit by 267 pitches, fourth most in Major League history. In fact, the only two seasons that he was not in the top eight in that category were his first two seasons, where he totaled nine games played.
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Baylor’s best years came in Baltimore, where he hit .274, and California, where he hit 141 home runs. He finished his career hitting .260/.342/.436 with 338 home runs and 1,276 RBI. Baylor was an All-Star in 1979 and won the AL MVP that same season with the Angels. He hit .296 that season with 36 home runs and he led the league with both 139 RBI and 120 runs scored. Baylor won two Silver Sluggers as a member of the Yankees and another as a member of the Red Sox, all of them coming from the designated hitter position.
Baylor made it to the post season seven times, compiling a .273 average in 38 games. He appeared in three World Series, but as mentioned before, only won it all in 1987 with the Twins. He hit .385 in that series with a home run, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored in five games.
Don Baylor: Manager
The Colorado Rockies tabbed Baylor as their first ever manager in 1993. He led them to the post season in just their third season on his way to winning the Manager of the Year Award. The Rockies finished above .500 in the next two seasons, but then fell to 77-85 in his final season as their manager. He took over as the manager of the Chicago Cubs in 2000. Baylor’s Cubs improved by 23 games in his second season, but they faltered in 2002 and he was fired midway through the season with a 34-49 record.
Baylor will be remembered as a leader. He led the Angels to their first postseason in 1979. He was the perfect person to lead the expansion Rockies, and he got them to the postseason in just their third season.
Baylor’s wife Rebecca released this statement after he passed, “Don passed from this earth with the same fierce dignity with which he played the game and lived his life.”
Baylor leaves behind his wife and son, as well as baseball fans everywhere.
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