August deaths
6) Darren Daulton – While Mitch Williams or Lenny Dykstra may have had claims on the best nickname on the 1993 Phillies club, “Dutch” was the heart and soul of the Phillies, gritting through incredible pain in his knees to play his most games in 1992-1993. He totaled 51 home runs in those two seasons in two of the most healthy seasons of his career, but that extended playoff run really drained his body, and he was never quite the same. He attempted to play the outfield in 1997, but he chose to retire after the season, after winning a World Series title with the Marlins.
Daulton had a troubling post-baseball life, peaked when he had two brain tumors removed in 2013. The cancer returned in 2017, taking his life at 55 years old.
7) Don Baylor – One of the most respected men in the entire game, Baylor had an incredible career in the game that began when he was drafted out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles in 1967. Baylor had an elite career as a player, hitting 338 career home runs, and winning the 1979 AL MVP, when he hit .296/.371/.530 with 36 home runs and 22 stolen bases.
Baylor had a long career after his playing days were over as a coach and manager, winning the Manager of the Year award as the manager with the Colorado Rockies. Baylor was well-regarded for his ability to teach hitting, working as a hitting coach with the Braves, Mariners, Angels, and Diamondbacks. He also served as the bench coach for the Mets and managed the Cubs. Baylor was 68.
9) Danny Walton – A big swinger, Walton could crush a ball when he got ahold of it, but he struggled with high strikeout rates when he didn’t hit the ball. His power was such that he was able to find major league time with six different major league teams over 9 seasons from 1968 to 1980. In that time, he had 880 plate appearances, hitting 28 home runs and striking out 240 times. He was 70.
10) Don Gross – Gross had an ascent to the major leagues interrupted by military service in the early 1950s, and once he resumed his pursuit of his dream, injuries that modern medicine likely could have solved were the bane of his career, leaving a very promising lefty to a career of just 398 major league innings, though with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He was 86.
12) Paul Casanova – Big in any era for a catcher, Casanova was a giant in the 1960s when he played, a rarity already as a dark-skinned Cuban catcher, but his 6’4″ height certainly stood out. Yet, Casanova was highly regarded for his defense, earning an All-Star appearance in 1967 based almost exclusively on his defense. He played a decade between the Senators and Braves, hitting .225/.252/.319 in his career, but he caught 40% of those attempting to steal against him in his career. Casanova was 75.