Former AL MVP Don Baylor doesn’t appear on a lot of cardboard

One generation might know him as a bit of a slugger and the 1979 American League MVP, while another might know him as a manager and coach.

Either way, Don Baylor was a man who lived his life in baseball — his career that spanned from the 1960s until 2015. He died on Monday at age 68 after a battle with multiple myeloma.

“Don Baylor: 14 teams as player, coach and manager. Countless lives influenced. There’s a hole in the universe, its expanse without end,” said J.G. Taylor Spink Award-winner Claire Smith on Twitter. “Deepest love and condolences to Becky Baylor and the Baylor family who are mourning a man whose heart was as big as all of Texas.”

Looking back at Ron Blomberg as MLB ponders DH in National League

You probably don’t know the name Ron Blomberg, but he was the first-overall pick in the 1967 MLB Draft and a big-leaguer for parts of eight seasons with the Yankees and White Sox.

But if you do know his name it’s probably because of one thing — he was the first designated hitter in MLB history.

Could there be more hitting history made soon? Perhaps with the MLB owners’ meetings this week in Florida where the owners are considering adopting the DH in the National League as soon as next season. Such a change wouldn’t be possible without the approval of the MLBPA but it still could happen.