Diamondbacks coach Baylor faints at Miller Park

By foxsports
Published

Arizona Diamondbacks batting coach Don Baylor was taken to a hospital after fainting at Miller Park on Friday morning.

Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers said Baylor had a ''fainting episode'' after eating breakfast in the clubhouse, and one of the team's trainers caught him as he fell. Towers said Baylor was taken by ambulance to a hospital, accompanied by members of the team's medical staff.

''Anytime somebody faints, loses consciousness for a while, it's scary,'' Towers said. ''He's a big part of this ballclub, means a lot to these players. And hopefully everything turns out well and he's in uniform tomorrow, hopefully helping us win a ballgame against a very good Brewers club.''

Towers said the 62-year-old Baylor was undergoing tests and the initial results were encouraging.

It is not clear whether Baylor will rejoin the team for Saturday's Game 1 of the NL division series against Milwaukee.

''We'd certainly like to have Don here, and hopefully he's better, much better, this evening,'' Towers said. ''If not, we're talking about bringing somebody up from our system in case he's not able to be active for us tomorrow. But we're not going to do anything until we really find out what we're dealing with.''

Towers said Baylor hadn't shown any signs that he was feeling ill, either at a team dinner Thursday night or earlier Friday morning.

Baylor, who played 19 seasons in the major leagues and was the 1979 AL MVP with the California Angels, joined Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson's staff in the offseason.

After managing the Chicago Cubs from 2000 to 2002, Baylor spent time on the coaching staffs of the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies. Baylor managed the Rockies from 1993 to 1998.

Towers acknowledged that the episode was unsettling for a team preparing for the playoffs.

''You're kind of getting ready for postseason play, and one of the coaches (who's) been here all year long has a fainting episode like that, it kind of throws you off a little bit,'' Towers said. ''But we've got our fingers crossed, and our prayers, that everything will turn out well.''

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