Don Baylor, former MVP and manager of year, dead at 68

Associated Press

Don Baylor, the burly slugger who once held the Major League Baseball record for being hit by a pitch and later guided the expansion Colorado Rockies to the playoffs for the first time as manager of the year, died today of cancer. He was 68.

The 1979 American League MVP died in his hometown of Austin, Texas, after a 14-year battle with multiple myeloma, Baylor's family said in a statement released by the Angels, the franchise for which he played more than 800 games.

"Don passed from this earth with the same fierce dignity with which he played the game and lived his life," Baylor's wife, Rebecca, said.

Baylor played in all 162 games for the California Angels in 1979 and led the majors with career bests of 139 RBIs and 120 runs. He also had career highs in homers (36) and hits (186) for the American League West champs, who lost to Baltimore in the AL Championship Series.

When the stocky Baylor retired, he had been hit by pitches a then-record 267 times, and led the majors in that category seven times.

He was also known for speed as a younger player, including a career-high 52 steals with Oakland in 1976, and was a bruising base runner who loved to break up double plays. He finished with 285 steals.

In his final three seasons, Baylor went to three straight World Series from 1986-88, winning the title and hitting one of his four postseason homers in Minnesota's seven-game victory against St. Louis in 1987. He was on losing teams with Boston in '86 and Oakland in '88.