Baylor Passes

Don Baylor, MVP and expert at taking a hit by pitch, died today, Monday:

Former MLB player and manager Don Baylor — a strong clubhouse leader in the game, a pioneer outside it and gentleman in both — died early Monday morning after a long battle with multiple myeloma, his son confirmed to the Austin American-Statesman. He was 68.

Baylor, a native of Austin, was one of the first African Americans to attend Stephen F. Austin High School and the first to play baseball and football at the school. He could have become the first black player in University of Texas football history, the American-Statesman noted, had he not turned down legendary coach Darrell Royal’s scholarship offer to pursue a career in baseball.

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Baylor ranks fourth on the Baseball Reference hit by pitch leader board with 267 plunks. He led the league or the majors eight times in the category. In his MVP year of 1979, he also led the majors in runs scored and RBI, batting .296/.371/.530. That year was also his best in terms of WAR, 3.7.

I saw Baylor play quite often, as I was a weekend Red Sox season ticket holder at the time, and was sitting in the centerfield bleachers (now closed for day games). Baylor was able to rotate his buttock into pitches in a way that made it look like he was trying to avoid a pitch, yet he moved right into it. He pretty much could reach base on any slow pitch that was a bit too inside.

He also took advantage of opportunities. I remember one at bat, Baylor got ahead 2-0. I was thinking, “This is the pitch to kill,” and when the pitcher released the ball, you could tell Baylor was waiting for it. It might have landed on the Mass Pike.

There used to be a McDonald’s a couple of blocks from Fenway Park, and I sometimes parked there. They didn’t block, and the parking fee went to the Ronald McDonald House. One day I arrived very early, and there was only one car in the lot. I was driving a VW at the time, and the attendant told my to park next to my cousin, the Porsche. When we came back to pay him, he told us that was Baylor’s car, a reward for winning the 1979 MVP. We went back and looked at the glove box, and sure enough, there was a plaque honoring his achievement. An automotive brush with greatness.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2uhibFw