Don Baylor
Designated Hitter · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1988)
Don Baylor was a designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1988 for 6 teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 19 seasons. In 2,292 career games, he hit .260 with 2,135 hits, 338 home runs, and 1,276 RBI. Don Baylor was an All-Star, an MVP, a 3-time Silver Slugger, and a Roberto Clemente Award. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 16,843.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Designated Hitter
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 190 lb
- Died
- 8/7/2017 in Austin, TX, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1970-09-18
- Last Game
- 1988-10-01
- Awards
- All-Star · MVP · 3× Silver Slugger · Roberto Clemente Award
Full name: Don Edward Baylor
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,292 | 8,198 | 1,236 | 2,135 | 366 | 28 | 338 | 1,276 | 285 | 805 | 1,069 | .260 | .342 | .436 | .777 | 16,843 |
Career AVG .260 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .342 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +5.5% above league average.
Career SLG .436 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +13.7% above league average.
Career OPS .777 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +10.0% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | BAL | AL | 8 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .235 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | BAL | AL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | BAL | AL | 102 | 320 | 33 | 81 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 38 | 24 | 29 | 50 | .253 | .243 (+4%) | .310 (+6%) | .353 (+17%) | .664 (+12%) | 685.5 |
| 1973 | BAL | AL | 118 | 405 | 64 | 116 | 20 | 4 | 11 | 51 | 32 | 35 | 48 | .286 | .256 (+11%) | .325 (+10%) | .378 (+15%) | .703 (+13%) | 998.3 |
| 1974 | BAL | AL | 137 | 489 | 66 | 133 | 22 | 1 | 10 | 59 | 29 | 43 | 56 | .272 | .256 (+6%) | .324 (+5%) | .369 (+4%) | .693 (+4%) | 463.3 |
| 1975 | BAL | AL | 145 | 524 | 79 | 148 | 21 | 6 | 25 | 76 | 32 | 53 | 64 | .282 | .257 (+10%) | .327 (+10%) | .374 (+31%) | .701 (+21%) | 2158.4 |
| 1976 | OAK | AL | 157 | 595 | 85 | 147 | 25 | 1 | 15 | 68 | 52 | 58 | 72 | .247 | .255 (-3%) | .320 (+3%) | .360 (+2%) | .681 (+2%) | 374.1 |
| 1977 | CAL | AL | 154 | 561 | 87 | 141 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 75 | 26 | 62 | 76 | .251 | .264 (-5%) | .329 (+2%) | .401 (+8%) | .730 (+5%) | 633.7 |
| 1978 | CAL | AL | 158 | 591 | 103 | 151 | 26 | 0 | 34 | 99 | 22 | 56 | 71 | .255 | .257 (-1%) | .323 (+3%) | .378 (+25%) | .702 (+15%) | 1660.5 |
| 1979 | CAL | AL | 162 | 628 | 120 | 186 | 33 | 3 | 36 | 139 | 22 | 71 | 51 | .296 | .265 (+12%) | .329 (+13%) | .397 (+33%) | .727 (+24%) | 3111.8 |
| 1980 | CAL | AL | 90 | 340 | 39 | 85 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 51 | 6 | 24 | 32 | .250 | .264 (-6%) | .326 (-3%) | .387 (-12%) | .714 (-8%) | -398.9 |
| 1981 | CAL | AL | 103 | 377 | 52 | 90 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 66 | 3 | 42 | 51 | .239 | .255 (-7%) | .320 (+1%) | .368 (+16%) | .688 (+9%) | 580.1 |
| 1982 | CAL | AL | 157 | 608 | 80 | 160 | 24 | 1 | 24 | 93 | 10 | 57 | 69 | .263 | .261 (+1%) | .324 (+2%) | .388 (+9%) | .712 (+6%) | 700.1 |
| 1983 | NYA | AL | 144 | 534 | 82 | 162 | 33 | 3 | 21 | 85 | 17 | 40 | 53 | .303 | .260 (+16%) | .324 (+11%) | .389 (+27%) | .714 (+20%) | 2050.5 |
| 1984 | NYA | AL | 134 | 493 | 84 | 129 | 29 | 1 | 27 | 89 | 1 | 38 | 68 | .262 | .259 (+1%) | .322 (+6%) | .384 (+27%) | .707 (+17%) | 1681.0 |
| 1985 | NYA | AL | 142 | 477 | 70 | 110 | 24 | 1 | 23 | 91 | 0 | 52 | 90 | .231 | .257 (-10%) | .323 (+2%) | .390 (+10%) | .714 (+6%) | 669.5 |
| 1986 | BOS | AL | 160 | 585 | 93 | 139 | 23 | 1 | 31 | 94 | 3 | 62 | 111 | .238 | .257 (-8%) | .325 (+5%) | .395 (+11%) | .720 (+9%) | 1252.1 |
| 1987 | BOS | AL | 108 | 339 | 64 | 81 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 57 | 5 | 40 | 47 | .239 | .262 (-9%) | .331 (+7%) | .415 (-3%) | .746 (+2%) | 296.7 |
| 1987 | MIN | AL | 20 | 49 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 12 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 296.7 |
| 1988 | OAK | AL | 92 | 264 | 28 | 58 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 44 | .220 | .254 (-14%) | .317 (+5%) | .377 (-14%) | .695 (-5%) | -79.3 |
| Career · 20 seasons | 2,292 | 8,198 | 1,236 | 2,135 | 366 | 28 | 338 | 1,276 | 285 | 805 | 1,069 | .260 | — | — | — | — | 17,134 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 121 | 17 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 13 | 21 | .273 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | ALCS | OAK | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .000 |
| 1988 | WS | OAK | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1987 | ALCS | MIN | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
| 1987 | WS | MIN | 5 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .385 |
| 1986 | ALCS | BOS | 7 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | .346 |
| 1986 | WS | BOS | 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .182 |
| 1982 | ALCS | CAL | 5 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | .294 |
| 1979 | ALCS | CAL | 4 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .188 |
| 1974 | ALCS | BAL | 4 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .267 |
| 1973 | ALCS | BAL | 4 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | .273 |
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (2292 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1134 | 3958 | 586 | 1001 | 156 | 628 | .253 |
| Away | 1158 | 4240 | 650 | 1134 | 182 | 648 | .267 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-10-01 | OAK | MIL | L | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1988-09-28 | OAK | MIN | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988-09-27 | OAK | MIN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1988-09-25 | OAK | MIL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988-09-23 | OAK | MIL | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1988-09-21 | OAK | MIN | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1988-09-20 | OAK | MIN | W | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988-09-10 | OAK | KCR | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1988-09-07 | OAK | TEX | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988-09-06 | OAK | TEX | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 148 | 135 | 1141 | 83 | 20 | 80 |
| OF | 822 | 776 | 1575 | 27 | 38 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | BAL | OF | 6 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | BAL | OF | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | BAL | 1B | 9 | 8 | 54 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1972 | BAL | OF | 84 | 72 | 152 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1973 | BAL | 1B | 6 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 1973 | BAL | OF | 110 | 96 | 204 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 1974 | BAL | 1B | 8 | 7 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1974 | BAL | OF | 129 | 120 | 218 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 1975 | BAL | 1B | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1975 | BAL | OF | 135 | 133 | 268 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| 1976 | OAK | 1B | 69 | 62 | 629 | 44 | 9 | 40 |
| 1976 | OAK | OF | 76 | 72 | 152 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977 | CAL | 1B | 18 | 16 | 141 | 13 | 2 | 14 |
| 1977 | CAL | OF | 77 | 77 | 139 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1978 | CAL | 1B | 17 | 17 | 118 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| 1978 | CAL | OF | 39 | 39 | 76 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | CAL | 1B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1979 | CAL | OF | 97 | 97 | 198 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1980 | CAL | OF | 54 | 54 | 119 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1981 | CAL | 1B | 4 | 4 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1981 | CAL | OF | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | NYA | 1B | 1 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | NYA | OF | 5 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | NYA | OF | 5 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | BOS | 1B | 13 | 13 | 65 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 1986 | BOS | OF | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 148 |
| Left Field | 625 |
| Center Field | 34 |
| Right Field | 200 |
| Designated Hitter | 1287 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Outstanding DH Award | |
| 1986 | Silver Slugger | DH |
| 1986 | TSN All-Star | DH |
| 1985 | Outstanding DH Award | |
| 1985 | Roberto Clemente Award | |
| 1985 | Silver Slugger | DH |
| 1985 | TSN All-Star | DH |
| 1983 | Silver Slugger | DH |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1979 | Player of the Month | May |
| 1979 | Player of the Month | July |
| 1979 | Player of the Week | Week of 1979-07-06 |
| 1979 | TSN All-Star | DH |
| 1979 | TSN Player of the Year | |
| 1976 | Player of the Week | Week of 1976-05-21 |
| 1975 | Player of the Week | Week of 1975-08-08 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | OAK | AL | $495,000 |
| 1987 | OAK | AL | $731,123 |
| 1986 | BOS | AL | $660,696 |
| 1985 | NYA | AL | $810,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $2,696,819 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 32.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1982 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 8.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 1st | 347.0 | 392 | 20 |
| 1978 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 7th | 51.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1975 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Don Baylor (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frequently Asked Questions about Don Baylor
- What years did Don Baylor play?
- Don Baylor played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1988.
- Was Don Baylor a pitcher?
- No. Don Baylor was a position player (Designated Hitter).
- How many home runs did Don Baylor hit?
- Don Baylor hit 338 career home runs with 2135 hits.
- What was Don Baylor's career batting average?
- Don Baylor batted .260 over his career, with 2,135 hits in 8,198 at bats.
- How many RBI did Don Baylor have?
- Don Baylor drove in 1,276 runs in his career.
- Did Don Baylor win an MVP?
- Yes. Don Baylor won the Most Valuable Player award 1 time.