Don Baylor, the former Yankees slugger, Mets coach and the 1979 American League MVP with the California Angels, died Monday from cancer. He was 68.
“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 to ESPN.
Baylor played 19 years in the majors from 1970-88, with Baltimore, Oakland, California, the Yankees, Boston and Minnesota, totaling 338 home runs in his one-time All-Star career. In 1979, he was the AL MVP, leading the majors in RBIs (139) and runs (120).