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Oh No! I liked Baylor a lot growing up. Very fine player. After I moved to Austin and learned he was from and still lived here I felt a certain affinity. Baylor, Dutch, rough week for ballplayers of that era.
Everybody remembers Dave Henderson's monster HR to put the Red Sox ahead in game 5 of the 1986 ALCS, but few talk about Baylor bringing the Sox closer to a comeback-- from 5-2 to 5-4-- by hitting a 2-run HR to set Hendu up for that drama.
I remember Baylor being a solid threat at the plate in 86 when I got to watch him on a daily basis. He seemed to either strike out, hit a homer, or get hit by a pitch. If he didn't hit a homer, he hit absolute laser shot singles and doubles, which had he gotten under just a bit more would have been rockets out of the yard.
I was always excited to see him come up and crowd the plate the way he did. Also, when he got hit by a pitch, he never looked fazed or in pain. He was a tough man and his fearlessness made him seem a lot bigger than his 6'1" frame when he got in the batter's box. I think he was a rather soft-spoken sort of guy and considered a good teammate.
RIP, Don Baylor.
NOTE, FTR: Baylor got hit by a pitch 35 times in 1986, and led the league 8x in that department, and all of MLB 7x. Fearless!
Sorry to hear this. I always forget he was a member of the 1987 Twins, who won it all. Good player and a tough guy. Can't imagine getting HBP 267 times. R.I.P. Don