1949
Born June 28, 1949
Austin, TX, USA
Don Baylor Marquee
b. June 28, 1949 · Baltimore Orioles 1970–1975, Oakland Athletics 1976, 1988, California Angels 1977–1982, New York Yankees 1983–1985, Boston Red Sox 1986–1987, Minnesota Twins 1987
Don Baylor played left field for the Baltimore Orioles for six seasons before a well-traveled career carried him through Oakland, California, the Yankees, Boston, Minnesota and Oakland again, closing out his career as a designated hitter across most of those stops, retiring in 1988.
He hit 338 home runs and stole 285 bases over 2,292 games, batting .260 with 2,135 hits and 1,276 runs batted in across an eighteen-season career.
He was named Most Valuable Player in 1979, the same year he made his only All-Star team and took a Sporting News All-Star nod. He later won the Outstanding DH Award twice and the Roberto Clemente Award in 1985.
Austin, Texas is where Baylor was born, on June 28, 1949; he batted and threw right-handed. He died on August 7, 2017, having spent his final decade in the game almost entirely as a designated hitter.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1979 |
| Player of the Week | 3 | 1975, 1976, 1979 |
| Silver Slugger | 3 | 1983, 1985, 1986 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 3 | 1979, 1985, 1986 |
| Outstanding DH Award | 2 | 1985, 1986 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1979 |
| Player of the Month | 1 | 1979 |
| Roberto Clemente Award | 1 | 1985 |
| The Sporting News Player of the Year | 1 | 1979 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | BAL | 8 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | .235 |
| 1971 | BAL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1972 | BAL | 102 | 320 | 33 | 81 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 38 | 29 | 50 | 24 | .253 |
| 1973 | BAL | 118 | 405 | 64 | 116 | 20 | 4 | 11 | 51 | 35 | 48 | 32 | .286 |
| 1974 | BAL | 137 | 489 | 66 | 133 | 22 | 1 | 10 | 59 | 43 | 56 | 29 | .272 |
| 1975 | BAL | 145 | 524 | 79 | 148 | 21 | 6 | 25 | 76 | 53 | 64 | 32 | .282 |
| 1976 | OAK | 157 | 595 | 85 | 147 | 25 | 1 | 15 | 68 | 58 | 72 | 52 | .247 |
| 1977 | CAL | 154 | 561 | 87 | 141 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 75 | 62 | 76 | 26 | .251 |
| 1978 | CAL | 158 | 591 | 103 | 151 | 26 | 0 | 34 | 99 | 56 | 71 | 22 | .255 |
| 1979 | CAL | 162 | 628 | 120 | 186 | 33 | 3 | 36 | 139 | 71 | 51 | 22 | .296 |
| 1980 | CAL | 90 | 340 | 39 | 85 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 51 | 24 | 32 | 6 | .250 |
| 1981 | CAL | 103 | 377 | 52 | 90 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 66 | 42 | 51 | 3 | .239 |
| 1982 | CAL | 157 | 608 | 80 | 160 | 24 | 1 | 24 | 93 | 57 | 69 | 10 | .263 |
| 1983 | NYY | 144 | 534 | 82 | 162 | 33 | 3 | 21 | 85 | 40 | 53 | 17 | .303 |
| 1984 | NYY | 134 | 493 | 84 | 129 | 29 | 1 | 27 | 89 | 38 | 68 | 1 | .262 |
| 1985 | NYY | 142 | 477 | 70 | 110 | 24 | 1 | 23 | 91 | 52 | 90 | 0 | .231 |
| 1986 | BOS | 160 | 585 | 93 | 139 | 23 | 1 | 31 | 94 | 62 | 111 | 3 | .238 |
| 1987 | BOS/MIN | 128 | 388 | 67 | 95 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 63 | 45 | 59 | 5 | .245 |
| 1988 | OAK | 92 | 264 | 28 | 58 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 34 | 34 | 44 | 0 | .220 |
| Career | — | 2292 | 8198 | 1236 | 2135 | 366 | 28 | 338 | 1276 | 805 | 1069 | 285 | .260 |
On this day & linked events
2017
Died August 7, 2017
1970
Major-league debut: Don Baylor
Don Baylor made a major-league debut on September 18, 1970.
1975
Don Baylor's Three-Home-Run Game, 1975
Don Baylor hit three home runs for the Baltimore Orioles against the Detroit Tigers on July 2, 1975.
1988
Final major-league game: Don Baylor
Don Baylor played a final major-league game on October 1, 1988.