DON BAYLOR

Now that he has been retired for more than a decade and become a fairly successful manager, it seems that people have forgotten what a great player he was.

The numbers are quite impressive: 338 homers, 1276 RBI, 1236 runs scored, and something that many forget, his speed. He became pretty hefty later in his career, but early on he had good speed, as his 275 steals attest. In fact, in 1976, he swiped a career high 52 bases, and from 1973, his first full season, through 1979, he stole 22 or more bases every year.

His lifetime average, .260, was flattened by several season of low averages after his last great season. In 1983, with the Yanks, he hit .303, with 21 homers and 85 RBI. That was followed by five seasons in which he never hit over .245. At the end of 1983, his lifetime average was a more respectable .270. One thing Baylor is remembered for was his predilection for getting hit by pitches--he holds the career record, have gained first base by that painful method 267 times.

From his breakthrough 1973 season with Baltimore, through the California years, which began in 1976, and continuing with the Yankee years in the mid-'80s, Don Baylor with a bat in his hands was one of the most feared combatants in the game of baseball. A large, hulking man, he was listed at 6'1", 195 lbs, which doesn't sound so big today, but he was an intimidating man, and his size was accompanied by the Baylor Glare. He used his speed and bulk, combined with a passion for winning, to break up many a double play.

Don Baylor, a self-described "brown-neck", hails from Austin, Texas where in high school he starred in both baseball and football. Signing with the Baltimore organization out of high school in 1967, by 1970 he was named Minor League Player of the Year. He was a part-timer in '72 and became a regular in 1973, helping Baltimore to AL East titles in '73 and '74.

In '75, he hit 25 homers and stole 32 bases, but he became part of a huge trade right before the 1976 season began. He went to Oakland with Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell for Reggie Jackson, a declining Ken Holtzman and a minor leaguer.

After that 52 steal year with the A's, he fled as a free agent down the California coast, to Anaheim. There Don enjoyed some of his best years, remaining with the Angels form 1977-82. The best of these years was 1979, when Baylor was the AL MVP, leading the majors in both runs (120) and RBI (139).

He had his career high batting year in 1983 when he arrived in New York. For the next three years he had 83 or more RBI, led the team with his quiet style, he helped break in 1984 rookie Don Mattingly, and playing alongside Dave Winfield. He was a DH by then, and won the top DH award in '85 and '86, by which time he had gone to Boston. Once again, he was dealt right before the season began, going in late March of '86 to Boston for Mike Easler. He got hit 35 times that year, but the years of low batting averages had begun, with .231 in '86. Still, he helped lead the Red Sox to the 1986 World Series with his 34 homers and 96 RBIs.

His last two years, despite his declining value, he still helped teams get to the World Series; first with Minnesota in 1987 and then with Oakland in 1988. This may be one of the best measures of Baylor the ballplayer. Although he made only one All Star team (during his MVP season in 1979) he went to the post season 7 times: Baltimore in '73 and '74, California in '79 and '82, Boston in '86, Minnesota in '87, Oakland in '88. No surprise, then, that he became a much sought coach, then manager after he retired. He piloted the Rockies from their inception in 1993 through '98, and has managed the Cubs since 1999.