Port St. Lucie, FL (My Sportsbook) - First year bench coach of the New York Mets, Don Baylor, has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.

The 53-year-old Baylor has multiple myeloma, a condition that also affected Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre in the spring of 2000. Stottlemyre left the Yankees in September 2000 for a stem cell transplant, but has since rejoined the team.

The cancer was found when an abnormality showed up during Baylor's spring training physical, which led to tests on March 12 in New York.

Baylor, who has been in contact with Stottlemyre, plans on undergoing four straight days of oral and intravenous chemotherapy during the Mets' first homestand which begins on Monday versus the Cubs.

The Cubs fired Baylor in the middle of last season as manager of the club. Baylor, who was in his third season as the club's skipper, guided the Cubs to a disappointing 34-49 mark in 2002.

Baylor, who became the 46th manager in the team's history on November 1, 1999, finished his tenure in Chicago with a record of 187-220.

Baylor also managed the Colorado Rockies from their inception in 1993 through the 1998 campaign. He finished with a mark of 440-469 during his stay in Denver and led the club to a wild card playoff berth in just its third year of existence. He is 627-689 in his managerial career.

In 19 seasons in the big leagues as a player, Baylor hit .260 in 2,292 games with 338 home runs and 1,276 RBI, spending time with six teams (Baltimore, Oakland, California, the Yankees, Boston and Minnesota).