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SPORTS Tuesday 8 augusT 2017

Don Baylor,

former MVP
and Manager

of Year, dead MAULED!

at 68

By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
Wherever he went, Don
Baylor left his mark on
baseball. He was an MVP
and Manager of the Year,
respected as a powerful
slugger, punishing runner
and commanding pres-
ence in any clubhouse.
And during nearly a half-
century as a pro, baseball
left its mark on him. Lots of
them, in fact. When Baylor
retired, he’d been plunked
more than anyone in major
league history. Baylor was
hit by fastballs, sliders and a
bunch of pitches 267 times
in his career. Baylor set the
modern-day record in 1987
while playing for Boston, on
the day he turned 38. Af-
ter the game, the Red Sox
gave him the souvenir ball.
“I can think of other ways
to get a birthday present,”
Baylor said. Baylor, the
bruiser who also held the
bruise record for almost
three decades, died Mon-
day of cancer. He was 68.
His family said in a state-
ment that Baylor died in his
hometown of Austin, Texas,
after a 14-year battle with
the nicest men I’ve known Nationals slam Cubs 9-4
multiple myeloma. “One of
unless you were a middle
infielder on a DP,” former Washington Nationals shortstop Wilmer Difo, left,
Baltimore teammate and throws out Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo at first
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim after forcing out Kris Bryant at second during the
Palmer tweeted. fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 6,
Baylor won the 1979 AL 2017, in Chicago.
MVP with the California Associated Press
Angels, playing all 162 Page 19
games and leading the
majors with career bests of
139 RBIs and 120 runs. His
36 home runs were also his
most. Baylor later became
the first manager of the
Colorado Rockies, guiding
them to his only playoff ap-
pearance as a skipper in
the franchise’s third season
in 1995 and being honored
for that accomplishment.
Continued on Page 20