WASHINGTON — Don Baylor, former major league baseball player, manager and coach, died Monday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.
Baylor’s son told the Austin American-Statesman that his father died 4:25 a.m. at St. David’s South Hospital after struggling with multiple myeloma.
“Don passed from this earth with the same fierce dignity with which he played the game and lived his life,” his wife, Rebecca, said in a statement, according to ESPN.
Don Baylor played 19 seasons in the Majors with six teams — the first six years with the Baltimore Orioles, starting in 1970. He also played for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins.
After reaching the World Series three straight times from 1986 to 1988, he won the title in 1987 with the Twins.
Baylor hit 338 career homers and was also hit by a lot of pitches, setting a new Major League mark in 1987. Over his career, Baylor was hit by a pitch 267 times. He has since been passed by Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
After his stint as a major league star, Baylor went on to manage the Colorado Rockies, and was named National League Manager of the Year. He then managed the Chicago Cubs from 2000 to 2002, ESPN reported.
WTOP’s Jonathan Warner contributed to this report.
