Veteran slugger, key part of Red Sox '86 team, passes.

Don Baylor’s time in a Red Sox uniform didn’t last long, but he left a sizeable imprint.

Baylor, who passed away Monday after a long battle with cancer, spent less than two full seasons of his 19-year playing career with the Sox. He came to them in a rare trade with the New York Yankees, at the end of spring training in 1986, in exchange for fellow DH Mike Easler.

He played in every game but two over the course of that pennant-winning season, batting just .238 but with a .344 on-base percentage, 31 homers and 94 RBI.

Those 31 homers led all Sox players that season and his 94 RBI placed him fourth in that category behind Jim Rice, Bill Buckner and Dwight Evans.

At 37, Baylor was the oldest everyday player and, along with Buckner, he provided the team and the clubhouse with a veteran leadership that was previously lacking. Baylor had had significant playoff experience with the Orioles (in '73 and '74) and California Angels ('79 and '82), something the rest of the Red Sox roster lacked.

And indeed, Baylor came up big in October. As the Red Sox fashioned their epic comeback against the Angels in the ALCS, Baylor’s ninth-inning two-run homer in Game 5 helped the Sox, facing elimination, pull within a run. Dave Henderson then homered to give the Red Sox the lead, which they would surrender in the bottom of the ninth. Henderson's sacrifice fly in the 11th then won the game for the Sox and keyed the team’s rebound, on the way to the World Series.

Baylor hit .346 in the seven-game ALCS. In the World Series, as the DH, he was limited to the four games played at Fenway and was just 2-for-11. Had the Red Sox held on Game 6 of the World Series, he would have been part of a historic Red Sox team winning its first title in 68 years, perhaps regarded in a way that, say, Kevin Millar would be regarded when the Sox finally broke through and won the World Series 18 years later.

Instead Baylor’s season ended in frustration, just as it did for so many on that 1986 team.

A year later, he was dealt on Sept. 1 to the Minnesota Twins and was a huge contributor in the Twins’ surprising championship. Baylor hit .400 in the ALCS and .385 in the World Series triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals. He made one more post-season appearance the following year as a role player with the A.L. champion Oakland A’s, making him one of the few players in history to appear in three straight World Series – each time with a different team.

He finished with a .260 career batting average, 338 homers and 1,276 RBI.