Don Baylor
Born: 6/28/1949 in Austin, TX, USA
Died: 8/7/2017 in Austin, TX, USA
MLB Debut: 1970-09-18 | Final Game: 1988-10-01
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Don Edward Baylor
Biography
Don Baylor was a prominent figure in Major League Baseball, celebrated for his powerful hitting and tenacious style of play. Born in 1949, he embarked on a professional career that spanned from 1970 until his retirement in 1988. Over the course of 2,292 games, Baylor compiled a formidable record, amassing 2,135 hits and 338 home runs, while driving in 1,276 runs. His batting average stood at .260, and he showcased his speed on the bases with 285 stolen bases. A notable highlight of his career came with his selection as an All-Star, which underscored his impact during an era characterized by offensive prowess.
Baylor's career unfolded during a dynamic period in baseball history, where power hitters began to emerge as central figures in the game. Known for his aggressive approach at the plate and ability to get on base, he left an indelible mark on the teams he played for, including the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, and New York Yankees. His contributions extended beyond his statistics, as he was admired for his leadership qualities and resilience, becoming a role model for younger players. Following his playing days, Baylor remained influential in baseball, transitioning into coaching and mentoring roles, further cementing his legacy in the sport.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2292 | 8198 | 1236 | 2135 | 366 | 28 | 338 | 1276 | 285 | 805 | 1069 | 0.260 | 0.342 | 0.436 | 0.777 | 16763.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | BAL | AL | 8 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.235 | 0.0 |
| 1971 | BAL | AL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1972 | BAL | AL | 102 | 320 | 33 | 81 | 13 | 3 | 11 | 38 | 24 | 29 | 50 | 0.253 | 685.5 |
| 1973 | BAL | AL | 118 | 405 | 64 | 116 | 20 | 4 | 11 | 51 | 32 | 35 | 48 | 0.286 | 998.3 |
| 1974 | BAL | AL | 137 | 489 | 66 | 133 | 22 | 1 | 10 | 59 | 29 | 43 | 56 | 0.272 | 463.3 |
| 1975 | BAL | AL | 145 | 524 | 79 | 148 | 21 | 6 | 25 | 76 | 32 | 53 | 64 | 0.282 | 2158.4 |
| 1976 | OAK | AL | 157 | 595 | 85 | 147 | 25 | 1 | 15 | 68 | 52 | 58 | 72 | 0.247 | 374.1 |
| 1977 | LAA | AL | 154 | 561 | 87 | 141 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 75 | 26 | 62 | 76 | 0.251 | 633.7 |
| 1978 | LAA | AL | 158 | 591 | 103 | 151 | 26 | 0 | 34 | 99 | 22 | 56 | 71 | 0.255 | 1660.5 |
| 1979 | LAA | AL | 162 | 628 | 120 | 186 | 33 | 3 | 36 | 139 | 22 | 71 | 51 | 0.296 | 3111.8 |
| 1980 | LAA | AL | 90 | 340 | 39 | 85 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 51 | 6 | 24 | 32 | 0.250 | -465.4 |
| 1981 | LAA | AL | 103 | 377 | 52 | 90 | 18 | 1 | 17 | 66 | 3 | 42 | 51 | 0.239 | 580.1 |
| 1982 | LAA | AL | 157 | 608 | 80 | 160 | 24 | 1 | 24 | 93 | 10 | 57 | 69 | 0.263 | 700.1 |
| 1983 | NYY | AL | 144 | 534 | 82 | 162 | 33 | 3 | 21 | 85 | 17 | 40 | 53 | 0.303 | 2050.5 |
| 1984 | NYY | AL | 134 | 493 | 84 | 129 | 29 | 1 | 27 | 89 | 1 | 38 | 68 | 0.262 | 1681.0 |
| 1985 | NYY | AL | 142 | 477 | 70 | 110 | 24 | 1 | 23 | 91 | 0 | 52 | 90 | 0.231 | 669.5 |
| 1986 | BOS | AL | 160 | 585 | 93 | 139 | 23 | 1 | 31 | 94 | 3 | 62 | 111 | 0.238 | 1252.1 |
| 1987 | BOS | AL | 108 | 339 | 64 | 81 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 57 | 5 | 40 | 47 | 0.239 | 296.7 |
| 1987 | MIN | AL | 20 | 49 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0.286 | 296.7 |
| 1988 | OAK | AL | 92 | 264 | 28 | 58 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 44 | 0.220 | -92.9 |
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 | 0.273 |
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 | 0.000 |
| 1988 | WS | OAK | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1987 | ALCS | MIN | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.400 |
| 1987 | WS | MIN | 5 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0.385 |
| 1986 | ALCS | BOS | 7 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0.346 |
| 1986 | WS | BOS | 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.182 |
| 1982 | ALCS | CAL | 5 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0.294 |
| 1979 | ALCS | CAL | 4 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0.188 |
| 1974 | ALCS | BAL | 4 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.267 |
| 1973 | ALCS | BAL | 4 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0.273 |
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
| 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 |