Don Baylor

Time to clean out the inbox and we start with a passing that I wanted to devote a post to,but the Glen Campbell passing pushed this to the side.

Don Baylor passed away at the age of 68 from cancer and by no means was Don Baylor's death second rate.
Baylor won the 1979 American League MVP with the Angels and was one of the game's best designated hitters in the 1980's,but might be remembered by younger fans as the less than successful manager of the Rockies and Cubs.

For the flaws of Baylor as a manager,as a player he was tremendous.
Baylor really had three stages to his player and reinvented himself each time.
As an young player with the Orioles,his one year in Oakland and his first few years with the Angels,Don Baylor was an impressive combination of power and speed that the game in the 1970's rarely saw in a player.

Don Baylor was touted when he came through the Baltimore system as the next star from the powerhouse Orioles farms and the replacement for Frank Robinson.
Baylor's projected future was the reason that Baltimore made the ill-advised trade of Robinson to the Dodgers after the 1971 season (and three consecutive AL Pennants) and would not reach the World Series again with a core group that might have had Robinson been retained.
Baylor was almost rated as a disappointment after three years in Baltimore.
His numbers were decent,but more had been expected for the player that was thought to be the possible equal to Frank Robinson.
That changed in 1975 for the Orioles and Baylor,when Baylor exploded with a .282 25 homers and 78 RBI line that also added 32 steals for a manager (Earl Weaver) that generally eschewed the stolen base.
Baylor had finally come into his own and was then swapped almost on the eve of the 1976 season as Baylor and Mike Torrez were sent to Oakland for Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman in a deal that saw two star player and two above average pitchers traded for each other.
Baylor responded during the final season before free agency with a season more like his pre-1975 seasons than like one expected to be a All-Star level player (.247/15/68),but still his potential made him one of the most coveted new free agents.
Baylor signed with the California Angels and put up three excellent seasons,the final of which won him his only MVP in 1979 with a line of .296/36 and 139 to go with 22 steals.
That season was the first division winner in the history of the Angels (they would lose to Baltimore 3-1 in the ALCS) and that team is always remembered fondly by Angels fans.
That would be the peak of Baylor as a player as he only played 90 games in 1980 and the transition began to the final stage of his career.

For the final years of his career (1980-88),Baylor became a one dimensional power hitter and usually a DH because he was a defensive liability.
Baylor had put on weight and even though he wasn't overweight,it still slowed him in the field and basepaths enough that the stolen bases were gone and he just didn't have a position in the field.
Baylor was reliable enough that you could mark him down for over twenty homers,but with one exception (1984) Baylor's batting average plummeted.
Baylor became a hired gun DH as he spent the final seven years of his career with five teams,delivering the noted over twenty homers as well as the clubhouse presence from a commanding veteran that almost all championship teams have.
Baylor's teams reached the World Series in the final three seasons (three different in Boston,Minnesota and Oakland) and won the 1987 title with the Twins.

The tough and physical Baylor was known for being hit by pitches and being a murderous threat at breaking up double plays,which made him so popular in the clubhouse.
That was what made it so hard to watch that person manage and just seem so awkward at it.
Don Baylor's years with the Cubs coincided with Ryan's watching Cubs games and I remember Ryan being so frustrated with Baylor's managing style and bumbling decisions.
Baylor was an excellent coach,but he just wasn't cut out to be a manager.

I'll choose not to remember Don Baylor as a manager and I think I'll always remember as the player pictured above on his 1974 Topps card with the Orioles.
My grandfather used to talk about the Orioles a lot back then and I remember being young and listening to him talk about those Oriole teams.
Pap always believed in the young Don Baylor,saw him as a coming star that just needed time to put things together, and scoffed at the abilities of a touted catcher acquired from the Braves (where he put up strong numbers) named Earl Williams.
Pap was right on both counts.