Don Baylor, who hit 31 home runs while aiding the 1986 Red Sox on a run to the World Series, died on Monday of cancer. He was 68.
Baylor played 19 seasons in the big leagues, with a 1986-87 stop in Boston.
After the New York Yankees traded him to Beantown for Mike Easler in March of ‘86, Baylor hit .238 with 31 homers as a 37-year-old. He hit .297 in the postseason until the Red Sox infamously lost the World Series in Game 7 to the New York Mets.
He was plunked by a pitch 35 times in ‘86, setting the Red Sox franchise record that won’t be easy to break.