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

AVG .260
HR 338
RBI 1,276
H 2,135
OPS .777
PIV 16,843
Position
Designated Hitter
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 190 lb
Born
6/28/1949 in Austin, TX, USA
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

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Career Batting Statistics

Don 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

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Baylor Stats, Bio & Career Records
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

Don Baylor — 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

Don Baylor — 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

Don Baylor — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home113439585861001156628.253
Away115842406501134182648.267

Last 10 Games — Batting

Don Baylor — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1988-10-01 OAKMILL 500000001
1988-09-28 OAKMINW 411000100
1988-09-27 OAKMINL 300000001
1988-09-25 OAKMILL 300000000
1988-09-23 OAKMILW 402000202
1988-09-21 OAKMINW 300000011
1988-09-20 OAKMINW 423001200
1988-09-10 OAKKCRL 401000001
1988-09-07 OAKTEXW 000000010
1988-09-06 OAKTEXL 000000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Don Baylor — 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

Don Baylor — 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

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Don Baylor Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 148
Left Field 625
Center Field 34
Right Field 200
Designated Hitter 1287

Awards & Honors

Don Baylor — 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

Don Baylor's recorded salaries total $2,696,819 over 4 seasons, 1985 to 1988. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Baylor's career ran from 1970 to 1988. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Don Baylor — 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 recorded salary (partial) $2,696,819

Award Voting History

Don Baylor — 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%.

Career Spans

Don Baylor (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Brian Downing
    .267 avg, 275 HR
  2. 96
    Hal McRae
    .290 avg, 191 HR
  3. 94
    Andre Thornton
    .254 avg, 253 HR
  4. 92
    Nelson Cruz
    .274 avg, 464 HR
  5. 90
    Harold Baines HOF
    .289 avg, 384 HR
  6. 88
    Victor Martinez
    .295 avg, 246 HR

Compare Don Baylor

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Baylor's closest peers by position and era.

vs Bobby Grich

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Don Baylor: the record in brief

The profile opens with Don Baylor's first major league game on September 18, 1970; the last one listed came on October 1, 1988. Club by club, the record runs the Baltimore Orioles (1970 through 1975), the Oakland Athletics (1976 through 1988), the California Angels (1977 through 1982), the New York Yankees (1983 through 1985), the Boston Red Sox (1986 through 1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1987). Born on June 28, 1949, in Austin, TX, USA, Baylor is listed as a designated hitter and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 6 feet, 1 inch and 190 pounds. Baylor died on August 7, 2017, in Austin, TX, USA. The bio lists the given name Don Edward.

Baylor's career batting table shows 2,292 games, 8,198 at bats and 2,135 hits, a .260 average, along with 338 homers, 1,276 RBI, and 285 stolen bases. Baylor got on base at a .342 rate and slugged .436 (.777 OPS). Against a .258 league average for those years, Baylor's .260 average was near the norm.

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 2,135 hits.
What teams did Don Baylor play for?
Don Baylor played for 6 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1970–1975), the Oakland Athletics (1976, 1988), the California Angels (1977–1982), the New York Yankees (1983–1985), the Boston Red Sox (1986–1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1987).
How many MVP awards did Don Baylor win?
Don Baylor won 1 MVP award, in 1979.
What awards did Don Baylor win?
Don Baylor won the MVP award (1979) and 3 Silver Slugger awards (1983, 1985, and 1986). He was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Don Baylor's career stats?
In 2,292 games, Don Baylor had 2,135 hits, 338 home runs, 1,276 RBI, 1,236 runs, and 285 stolen bases, with a .260 batting average.
How much did Don Baylor earn in his career?
Don Baylor's recorded salaries total $2,696,819 over 4 seasons, 1985 to 1988. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Baylor's career ran from 1970 to 1988. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Don Baylor's salary?
Don Baylor's last recorded salary was $495,000, in 1988. His highest recorded salary was $810,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $495,000, in 1988. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1988.
What position did Don Baylor play?
Don Baylor played primarily as a designated hitter, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Don Baylor and how much did he weigh?
Don Baylor was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 190 pounds.
How many home runs did Don Baylor hit each season?
Don Baylor's home runs by season: 0 in 1970, 0 in 1971, 11 in 1972, 11 in 1973, 10 in 1974, 25 in 1975, 15 in 1976, 25 in 1977, 34 in 1978, 36 in 1979, 5 in 1980, 17 in 1981, 24 in 1982, 21 in 1983, 27 in 1984, 23 in 1985, 31 in 1986, 16 in 1987, and 7 in 1988. His most in one season was 36, in 1979.
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.