Angels coach Don Baylor breaks leg during ceremonial first pitch
The Angels hitting coach was hurt before the game even began.
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sport
Update: Don Baylor broke his femur and is scheduled for surgery Tuesday, the Angels announced.
In one of the more freakish injuries to take place on Opening Day 2014, Angels hitting coach Don Baylor appeared to injure his right leg while catching a ceremonial first pitch from retiring Angel Vladimir Guerrero. Guerrero, who hit .319/.381/.546 in six seasons in Anaheim, had signed a one-day contract so he could retire in an Angels uniform. His farewell pitch was in the dirt, and as the 64-year-old Baylor -- a career outfielder and designated hitter, not a catcher -- scrambled to corral the ball, he somehow snapped a bone in his leg. An attempt to walk it off did not go well.
The video:
Baylor has been in professional baseball in some capacity since being selected by the Orioles in the second round of the 1967 amateur draft. Originally a speedy outfielder with only middling home-run power who stole up to 52 bases a season, he developed into a beefy slugger who specialized in turning his big shoulders into inside fastballs and trotting to first base on the hit by pitch. He set both the American League single-season record (35 in 1986) and the modern career record (267), since broken by Craig Biggio. A .260 career hitter, Baylor recorded full-season averages as high as .303. In 1979, as the left fielder/DH for the California Angels, he hit .296/.371/.530 (145 OPS+), hit 36 home runs, led the AL in both runs and RBI, and won the league Most Valuable Player award. His main flaw as a player was a very weak throwing arm, the element of his game that eventually made him one of the first long-lasting designated hitters.
Baylor became known as a clubhouse leader who helped professionalize and inspire the clubs he was part of. In addition to going to the postseason with the 1973 and 1974 Orioles early in his career, he also played October baseball with the 1979 and 1982 Angels, 1986 Red Sox, 1987 Twins and 1988 A's. The Twins won the World Series. Since then, he's managed nine seasons with the Rockies and Cubs and coached 12 seasons with seven teams, including the last three seasons as the hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Coaches are usually not in much jeopardy of injury other than staying out of the way of hard smashes through the box and staying behind the screen when throwing batting practice (unless you’re Don Zimmer). Participating in a player retirement has to be one of the least hazardous activities to take place on a baseball field -- until now. It turns out the injury makes sense for Baylor specifically, however:
Baylor was diagnosed in '03 with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer that weakens the bones. Also afflicted Mel Stottlemyre, among many others.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) April 1, 2014 Here’s to a quick recovery of a 47-year baseball man.
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