Age: 30 (June 28)
3rd season
with Angels
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 190
Prior to 1979:
A native of
Austin, Texas, Baylor excelled at baseball and football in high school and
turned down offers of football scholarships from prominent colleges to sign
with the Baltimore Orioles, who chose him in the 1967 amateur draft despite
concerns about a shoulder injury that permanently affected his throwing
ability. He was Appalachian League Player of the Year with the Bluefield
Orioles in ’67, where he batted .346 in 67 games with 8 triples, 8 home runs,
and 26 stolen bases. He rose quickly from Class A to Class AAA, where he
struggled, in 1968, and batted .310 with two clubs (primarily the Dallas-Fort
Worth Spurs of the Texas League) in 1969. Baylor spent 1970 with the Rochester
Red Wings of the Class AAA International League where he was shifted from
center field to left due to his lack of arm strength. He hit .327 with 22 home
runs and 107 RBIs and was called up to the Orioles in September. Blocked by the
strength of Baltimore’s roster, he returned to Rochester in 1971 where he had
another strong season. The Orioles traded veteran right fielder Frank Robinson
in the offseason, opening a roster spot for Baylor in 1972. Appearing in 102
games, he hit .253 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. Starting off slowly in 1973,
Baylor finished up with a .286 average, 11 home runs, and 51 RBIs while
appearing in 118 games. By 1975 he was very much a player on the rise and in
the spring of 1976 he was part of a six-player trade with Oakland that brought OF
Reggie Jackson to Baltimore for a year. Baylor’s offense declined in Oakland
but he stole a career-high 52 bases in 1976 and after the season became a free
agent and signed a six-year deal with the Angels worth $1.6 million. Baylor
overcame a slow start to hit .251 with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs in 1977. His
home run total rose to 34 in 1978 and he knocked in 99 runs as well. An adept
designated hitter, he occasionally appeared in the outfield or at first base.
1979 Season Summary
Appeared in 162
games
LF – 78, DH –
65, RF – 20, 1B – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 722 [2]
At Bats – 628 [5]
Runs – 120 [1]
Hits – 186 [6]
Doubles – 33 [10,
tied with Claudell Washington]
Triples – 3
Home Runs – 36
[4]
RBI – 139 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 71 [19]
Int. BB – 6
Strikeouts – 51
Stolen Bases – 22
[14, tied with Alan Bannister]
Caught Stealing
– 12 [7, tied with six others]
Average - .296
[18]
OBP - .371 [17]
Slugging Pct. -
.530 [10]
Total Bases – 333
[4]
GDP – 10
Hit by Pitches
– 11 [3]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 12
[3]
League-leading
runs scored were +1 ahead of runner-up George Brett
League-leading
RBIs were +9 ahead of runner-up Jim Rice
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 23, RBI - 85, AVG - .299, SLG - .551
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Oakland 8/8
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 17
HR on road – 19
Most home runs,
game – 2 on five occasions
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 8 at Toronto 8/25
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding (OF)
Chances – 210
Put Outs – 201
Assists – 4
Errors – 5
Pct. - .976
Postseason
Batting: 4 G (ALCS vs. Baltimore)
PA – 17, AB – 16,
R – 2, H – 3, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 1, IBB – 1, SO – 2, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .188, OBP - .235, SLG - .375, TB – 6, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (Started
for AL in LF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Don Baylor,
Cal.: 347 pts. – 20 of 28 first place votes, 89% share
Ken Singleton,
Balt.: 241 pts. – 3 first place votes, 61% share
George Brett,
KCR: 226 pts. – 2 first place votes, 58% share
Fred Lynn, Bos.:
160 pts. – 41% share
Jim Rice, Bos.:
124 pts. – 32% share
(3 first place
votes for Mike Flanagan, Balt. who ranked sixth)
---
Angels went 88-74
to finish first in the AL Western Division by 3 games over the Kansas City
Royals, who had topped the division the previous three seasons, while leading
the league in runs scored (866). on-base percentage (.351), and designated
hitting (.318). Lost ALCS to Baltimore Orioles, 3 games to 1.
Aftermath of ‘79:
Baylor followed
up with a down year in 1980, during which he missed several weeks due to a
wrist injury and ended up appearing in just 90 games and batting a miserable
.250 with only five home runs while the Angels dropped to sixth place. Baylor’s
average dropped to .239 during the strike-shortened ’81 season with 17 home
runs and 66 RBIs. Baylor, now exclusively a DH, and the Angels rebounded in
1982 as the club returned to the top of the AL Western Division with Baylor
contributing 24 home runs and 93 RBIs. He signed a free agent contract with the
New York Yankees after the ’82 season. In three seasons with the Yankees,
Baylor’s batting average dropped from .303 in 1983 to .231 in 1985 and he hit a
total of 71 home runs with 265 RBIs and struck out 211 times. He was traded to
the Boston Red Sox during the spring of 1986 and contributed 31 home runs, 94
RBIs, despite a .238 average to aid Boston’s run to the AL Eastern Division
title. He hit .346 in the ALCS victory over the Angels. Appreciated for his
leadership as well as potent bat, Baylor was obtained by the Minnesota Twins
from the Red Sox during the 1987 season. Minnesota went on to win the World
Series and Baylor returned to Oakland as a free agent in 1988, putting him on
an AL pennant-winning club for the third straight year. He batted just .220
with 7 home runs and 34 RBIs in his final season. Overall in his major league
career, Baylor hit 338 home runs, accumulated 1276 RBIs, and batted .260 with
2135 hits. He also stole 285 bases and due to his willingness to crowd the
plate with an upright batting stance, was hit by 267 pitches, which set a modern
record at the time. In 38 postseason games, he batted .273 with 4 home runs and
21 RBIs. He returned to major league baseball as a hitting coach before
becoming the manager of the expansion Colorado Rockies in 1993. The Rockies
reached the postseason as a Wild Card entry in 1995 as a third-year club, and
Baylor received Manager of the Year recognition. He lasted a total of six
seasons with Colorado and compiled a 440-469 record. His overall managerial
record was 627-689. A hitting coach when not managing, he battled multiple
myeloma for many years until his death in 2017 at age 68.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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