Don Baylor dies at 68

Oil Can Dan

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Sad news. Loved the way he'd get HBP then just trot down to 1st like it was nothing. Also loved the Kangaroo Court he ran on the '86 squad that helped keep the team loose.
 

Spacemans Bong

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That's a real shame. Interesting that he never won it all, as I understood it he had a real reputation as a team leader and a "winning" type player.

I also remember Bill James writing that Baylor felt that showing pain on a hit by pitch was giving a psychological advantage to the opposing pitcher, so his nonchalance when getting plunked was deliberate.

Edit: he did get a ring on the 87 Twins.
 

streeter88

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Wow. Too young.

Glad he got a WS ring; bittersweet that it was not with the Red Sox, but with the Twins in 1987.

Edit: after reading the post above, I double checked on the 1987 Twins team. Baylor was traded from Boston to Minnesota on September 1, 1987 for a PTBNL, and was the Twins DH in the WS. He hit the game tying HR in the 5th inning in Game 6, and slashed .467/.615/1.082 for the series.
 
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thehitcat

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"Don Baylor would be on first by now" was an oft repeated refrain in my house as another late 80's early 90's Sox batter would struggle through yet another unproductive AB usually culminated by taking an inside strike.
He really helped that team gel in 86, the team that truly defined my Sox fandom until 2004. I am sad that he is gone.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Sigh, 68? I'm getting old.

His less-ballyhooed two-run shot in the 9th off Mike Witt was just as big as Hendu's two-run shot off Donnie Moore.

He also hit 31 HRs that season, at age 37. A quietly big part of the depth of that team's lineup. And of course he led the majors in HBP with 35 (!!!) Never afraid to take one for the team!

Edit: just checked his overall 1986 ALCS slash line: .469 / .577 / 1.046 (in 32 PA). Papi-esque!

RIP, Don Baylor.
 
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John Marzano Olympic Hero

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This really sucks, I was a big fan of Don Baylor.

Three World Series in three years with three different teams. Not bad.
 

Dim13

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Loved Baylor on the Sox as a kid. Also, he played an important role in Clemens' 20k game against Seattle. IIRC, he dropped a foul pop up which led to another Clemens K - one he wouldn't have had if Baylor had made the easy catch.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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Wow. Too young.

Glad he got a WS ring; bittersweet that it was not with the Red Sox, but with the Twins in 1987.

Edit: after reading the post above, I double checked on the 1987 Twins team. Baylor was traded from Boston to Minnesota on September 1, 1987 for a PTBNL, and was the Twins DH in the WS. He hit the game tying HR in the 5th inning in Game 6, and slashed .467/.615/1.082 for the series.
A Twins fan friend of mine (who was not even married at the time) promised to name his first born kid after Baylor during that dramatic HR-hitting at bat. And he did; his daughter's middle name is Baylor.

Easy guy to root for...
 

jose melendez

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I met his son a couple times. We were both working on workforce development stuff, me in MA him in TX and we were at a conference in Baltimore. I didn't want to ask him too much about his dad, but I did ask what his key was to getting hit so often, and he said something to the effect of "never backing down."

Real good player.
 

natpastime162

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Sigh, 68? I'm getting old.

His less-ballyhooed two-run shot in the 9th off Mike Witt was just as big as Hendu's two-run shot off Donnie Moore.

He also hit 31 HRs that season, at age 37. A quietly big part of the depth of that team's lineup. And of course he led the majors in HBP with 35 (!!!) Never afraid to take one for the team!

Edit: just checked his overall 1986 ALCS slash line: .469 / .577 / 1.046 (in 32 PA). Papi-esque!

RIP, Don Baylor.
I don't remember any of this, but the replay of it is awesome.

 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Sad news. Loved the way he'd get HBP then just trot down to 1st like it was nothing. Also loved the Kangaroo Court he ran on the '86 squad that helped keep the team loose.
I always found the incredible thing about Baylor's impact on that '86 team to be that he was such a late spring training acquisition (March 28) and still instantly became a clubhouse leader (particularly with the Kangaroo Court), even with vets like Dewey and Rice and Buckner already there. Some people just have that innate ability to instantly have a command presence no matter the circumstances. He was one of those people. RIP.
 

terrynever

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Tough news for Mel Stottlemyre. Both have battled multiple myeloma together, and pooled resources to raise money. Baylor was a really good Yankee from 1983-85, a calm voice in a raucous clubhouse that featured, on and off, the Billy Martin asylum. Yogi loved Baylor, who was an Old School player, no nonsense. Yanks traded Baylor for Mike Easler and lost that deal.
 

InstaFace

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His less-ballyhooed two-run shot in the 9th off Mike Witt was just as big as Hendu's two-run shot off Donnie Moore.
Not only that, but he ended up scoring the winning run in that game, in the 11th. No prizes for guessing the manner in which he reached base that inning.
 

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I don't remember any of this, but the replay of it is awesome.


There's just so much in that clip, starting with the way he reached for that outside pitch to the CHP in the dugout as they expected the Angels to win.. Then there's the pre-remodel Angels stadium and, particularly, the replay from above that showed the arc of the ball.
 

bosockboy

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There's just so much in that clip, starting with the way he reached for that outside pitch to the CHP in the dugout as they expected the Angels to win.. Then there's the pre-remodel Angels stadium and, particularly, the replay from above that showed the arc of the ball.
Also amazing to think how much happened in this inning that without it, the entire Mets experience never happens. 1986 was the arguably the greatest postseason ever with the Mets 16 inning clincher in Houston in the NLCS.
 

rlsb

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Not shown in the above clip, Henderson's SF scoring Baylor in the 11th inning.
 

E5 Yaz

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Not shown in the above clip, Henderson's SF scoring Baylor in the 11th inning.
The clip of Baylor's home run in the 9th doesn't include his scoring on a sac fly in the 11th? Whodathunkit?
 

Marciano490

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Born in Austin, Texas, Baylor grew up in Clarksville. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School. After being one of three African Americans to integrate Texas public schools when he was in junior high school,[1] Baylor starred in baseball and football at Austin High, where he was the first African American to play athletics,[2] and was offered a scholarship to play college football for the Texas Longhorns of the University of Texas, which would have made him the first African American to play football at Texas.[3] He opted to pursue a baseball career, enrolling at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas.[4]
Found this to be very interesting, from his Wikipedia.
 

strek1

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Rest In Peace big guy. What a force he was. Sweet memories of that 1986 Season (Up to a point), and also the first Clemens 20K game when he played first. Remember him dropping a foul pop up in that game. He didn't like those!
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

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He had an amazing baseball life. Played in 3 straight WS, winning one.
Was an MVP.
Was Manager of the Year.
Roberto Clemente award winner.
Respected by just about everyone.

Too short, but a life well-lived.
 

Sox and Rocks

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As a baseball fan in my mid thirties, I watched him some as a player and liked him, but I will always remember him as the first manager of the Rockies. A strategist he was not, but the players loved him and he provided needed leadership for a young team and franchise. He led the 95 team to their first postseason and challenged the vaunted Braves in the DS.

RIP, Don.
 

chrisfont9

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I don't remember any of this, but the replay of it is awesome.

It was huge. Witt was really tough that day, and I believe in the first game of the series too. For them to suddenly come alive after that, I'd imagine Baylor's HR gave them a huge psychological boost, as well as the gift of getting Witt out of the game for Donnie Moore. His role that entire season was pretty unforgettable, clearly brought a measure of self-respect to a pretty ragged (but talented) cast of characters. RIP Don.
 

circus catch

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This is a confessional. When the Sox lost in 78, I was done. I couldn't stand it anymore. I loved baseball, and was looking for a harmless way to enjoy the game, and wound up rooting for the Mets, who at the time were a 60-win team, and part of my cable package every night. No risk of emotions. I saw Dwight Gooden, Mookie Wilson, Ron Darling, and Darryl Strawberry come up, and I rooted for them.

By 1986, I had run away from the north shore to Portland, Oregon, and I watched the 86 playoffs in my dorm lobby, the Mets, with an eye on the Sox, who fell down 3-1 to the Angels. Both teams had to battle to get to the series, but when the Sox got in, it all came rushing back - I didn't mention that I had been at game 7 in 75 - and slammed me. There was just no fuckin way I could root against the Sox in the World Series.

I busted up my hand during game 1 when someone stood behind and kept saying that everyone from Boston was a racist, and after I hesitated and people broke it up I hit a wall instead of him, and I was all in.

Don Baylor was one of the main reasons I am a Sox fan now. My sympathies to his family. He's a legend to me.
 

TomBrunansky23

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Sadness here in the Flower City too for Don Baylor, member of of the 1971 Rochester Red Wings who won the IL title and then the Junior World Series when there was such a thing. That team also had Joe Altobeli as manager, Bobby Grich, Johnny Oates, Ray Miller and another guy named Ron Shelton who you might have heard of.
 

Skiponzo

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It was huge. Witt was really tough that day, and I believe in the first game of the series too. For them to suddenly come alive after that, I'd imagine Baylor's HR gave them a huge psychological boost, as well as the gift of getting Witt out of the game for Donnie Moore. His role that entire season was pretty unforgettable, clearly brought a measure of self-respect to a pretty ragged (but talented) cast of characters. RIP Don.
To pick nits after Baylors HR Witt stayed in and got Dewey out then was lifted for a lefty to face Gedman,who he hit on the first pitch bringing in Moore to face Henderson.

I do believe your main point about Witt being unhitable and the psychological effect of the HR are spot on.
 

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Oil Can Dan

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To pick nits after Baylors HR Witt stayed in and got Dewey out then was lifted for a lefty to face Gedman,who he hit on the first pitch bringing in Moore to face Henderson.

I do believe your main point about Witt being unhitable and the psychological effect of the HR are spot on.
Gary Lucas was that lefty. If memory serves he made Gedman look ridiculous the game before. Hitting him in the first pitch was a gift from the Gods. Sorta like Mariano walking Miller on five pitches in the top of the 9th...
 

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To pick nits after Baylors HR Witt stayed in and got Dewey out then was lifted for a lefty to face Gedman,who he hit on the first pitch bringing in Moore to face Henderson.

I do believe your main point about Witt being unhitable and the psychological effect of the HR are spot on.
IIRC, before the Sox batted that inning, Baylor told everyone in the dugout to go out and have their best at bat of the season. The man was a force! RIP.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Gary Lucas was that lefty. If memory serves he made Gedman look ridiculous the game before. Hitting him in the first pitch was a gift from the Gods. Sorta like Mariano walking Miller on five pitches in the top of the 9th...
Gene Mauch completely over-reacted in that inning. I'm not sure how many pitches Witt threw in that game, but he was cruising, despite giving up a hit to Buckner and the dinger to Baylor.

I can't remember where I read or heard it, but if you look at the shots of Mauch at the beginning of the ninth inning Reggie Jackson is right behind him. Reggie knew that the cameras would be on Mauch because he was finally going to the World Series after so many near misses. As the inning spirals further and further out of control, Reggie is inching away from Mauch more and more until finally after Hendu's home run, he's nowhere to be found.
 

glasspusher

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RIP, Mr. Baylor. Brought some great offense and a great attitude to the clubhouse in 1986. Anyone think he had an impact on changing Boston's view of black players, to say nothing of that damn Yawkey management?
 

glasspusher

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My older bro was at the 20K game and vividly remembers the dropped foul pop up 1986. He called me when he got home. The celts were in the playoffs that night so Fenway was pretty empty.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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RIP, Mr. Baylor. Brought some great offense and a great attitude to the clubhouse in 1986. Anyone think he had an impact on changing Boston's view of black players, to say nothing of that damn Yawkey management?
Honestly, probably not. I don't think that the view on race, and black players in particular, changed until Mo Vaughn and Dan Duquette in the mid 90s.

Baylor was in Boston for a year-and-a-half. Jim Rice was here much longer than that, if anyone was going to change the city's views on black players, it would have been him. Or George Scott. Or Cecil Cooper.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Here's all of that insane Game 5, for anyone with time to kill:


(I had forgotten how epic the ABs of both Baylor and Hendu were, among a ton of other crazy details, many raised here...)
 

Skiponzo

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Gene Mauch completely over-reacted in that inning. I'm not sure how many pitches Witt threw in that game, but he was cruising, despite giving up a hit to Buckner and the dinger to Baylor.

I can't remember where I read or heard it, but if you look at the shots of Mauch at the beginning of the ninth inning Reggie Jackson is right behind him. Reggie knew that the cameras would be on Mauch because he was finally going to the World Series after so many near misses. As the inning spirals further and further out of control, Reggie is inching away from Mauch more and more until finally after Hendu's home run, he's nowhere to be found.
Wasn't Mauch ejected? I have a faint memory of Rene Lachemann coming in to pull Witt. Can't seem to find it. My Google-Fu fails me again.
 

Ale Xander

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By far my favorite hitter on that '86 team. Very influential despite less than 2 years on Red Sox. Awesome on RBI baseball. Great guy too.

Too young to go. RIP Don