Tony Taylor (baseball)

For other people named Tony Taylor, seeTony Taylor (disambiguation).

Tony Taylor
Taylor with theFlorida Marlinsin 2001
Second baseman
Born:(1935-12-19)December 19, 1935 Central Álava,Cuba
Died:July 16, 2020(2020-07-16)(aged 84) Miami, Florida,U.S.
Batted:Right Threw:Right
MLB debut
April 15, 1958, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1976, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.261
Hits	2,007
Home runs	75
Runs batted in	598
Teams
Chicago Cubs(1958–1960) Philadelphia Phillies(1960–1971) Detroit Tigers(1971–1973) Philadelphia Phillies(1974–1976)
Career highlights and awards
2×All-Star(1960,1960²) Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame

Antonio Nemesio Taylor Sánchez(December 19, 1935 – July 16, 2020)was aCubanbaseballsecond basemanwho played 19 seasons inMajor League Baseball(MLB). He played for theChicago Cubs,Philadelphia Phillies,andDetroit Tigersfrom 1958 until 1976. He batted and threw right-handed and also playedthird baseandfirst base.

Taylor was signed as anamateur free agentby theNew York Giantsin 1954 and played for three of theirminor league affiliatesuntil 1957, when the Chicago Cubs drafted him in that year'sRule 5 draftand promoted him to the major leagues. After spending two seasons with the organization, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960, the same year he was selected twice as anAll-Star.He was subsequently dealt in mid-1971 to the Detroit Tigers, who released him after two seasons. He returned to the Phillies and played his last game on September 29, 1976.

Early life

Taylor was born inCentral Alava,Matanzas Province,on December 19, 1935. He was of American descent through his father, who died in 1957. His mother's parents were Chinese; they changed their name to Sánchez upon arrival in Cuba.

Taylor's younger brother, Jorge, also played baseball with a minor league affiliate of theCincinnati Redsin 1960.Taylor also had a sister (Estrella). He started playing baseball when he was seven or eight years old.He was signed as an amateur free agent by theNew York Giantsin April 1954.

Professional career

Taylor posted a career.261batting averagewith 75home runsand 598RBIin 2195games.

Taylor signed at age 18 as a third basemanin theNew York Giantsorganization. He debuted in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs in 1958; he was their starting second baseman in 1958 and 1959.

Taylor had a small role in one of baseball history's weirdest plays. It took place on June 30, 1959, when theSt. Louis Cardinalsplayed the Cubs atWrigley Field.Stan Musialwas at the plate facingBob Andersonwith a count of 3–1. Anderson's next pitch was errant, the ball evaded catcherSammy Taylorand rolled all the way to the backstop. UmpireVic Delmorecalled "ball four", but Anderson and Sammy Taylor contended that Musialfoul tippedthe ball, which would mean the ball was actually strike two. While Delmore was embroiled in an argument with Anderson and Sammy Taylor, Musial ran for second base. Seeing that Musial was running to second, third basemanAlvin Darkretrieved the ball, which briefly wound up in the hands of field announcerPat Pieper,but Dark recovered it. Absentmindedly, however, Delmore produced a new baseball and gave it to Sammy Taylor. When Anderson saw Musial trying for second, he took the new ball from Sammy Taylor and threw it towards Tony Taylor covering second base, and the ball went over the latter's head into the outfield. Meanwhile, Dark threw the original ball to shortstopErnie Banks.Musial did not see the throw and he was declared out when the tag was made.

Taylor as a player with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961

Taylor was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along withCal NeemanforDon CardwellandEd Boucheeearly in the 1960 season.Despite the fact that Philadelphia was a mediocre team, Taylor established himself and was named to theNational League All-Starteam that year.

A solid and dependable performer, Taylor set a Phillies team record by playing 1,003 games at second base (later broken byChase Utley), and his sixstealsofhomeranks him second on the Phillies' all-time list.

Taylor appeared on a live satellite broadcast feed on July 23, 1962, in the first live transatlantic broadcast, relayed byTelstarin the 20 minutes that it orbited over the Atlantic Ocean. As lead-in filler before a speech by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy,a 90-second clip of a game between the Phillies and the Chicago Cubs atWrigley Field,featuring Taylor hitting a ball pitched byCal Koonceto right fielderGeorge Altman,was captured and broadcast live to Europe.

In 1963, Taylor hit.281 and collected career highs inruns(102) andhits(182), and the next season, he made the defensive play that savedJim Bunning'sperfect game.In 1970, he hit a career-high.301 average with 26doubles,ninetriplesand nine homers.

Taylor was dealt from thePhilliesto theDetroit Tigersfor minor-league right-handed pitchers Carl Cavanaugh and Mike Fremuth on June 11, 1971.He helped them to a division title a year later.Afree agentbefore the 1974 season, he signed again with the Phillies and became a valuable utility man andpinch hitterfor his final three major league seasons.

Later life

After retiring as a player, Taylor became a major leaguecoachfor the Phillies from 1977 to 1979, and again from 1988 to 1989. In the intervening time, he was manager in the organization's minor league system and a roving instructor. He served as a minor league coach with the Giants starting in 1990. Two years later, he became minor league coordinator of theFlorida Marlins,before becoming their major league coach from 1999 to 2001, and again in 2004.

Taylor was enshrined in theCuban Baseball Hall of Famein 1981.He was subsequently inducted into thePhiladelphia Phillies Wall of Famein 2002,and theHispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fametwo years later.

Taylor died on July 16, 2020, at the age of 84. He had suffered a stroke one year before at the conclusion of an event for retired players atCitizens Bank Park,and died due to complications arising from it.

See also

• 1972 American League Championship Series
• List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
• List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba
• List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromMLB,orESPN,orBaseball Reference,orFangraphs,orBaseball Reference (Minors),orRetrosheet
• Tony Taylorat theSABR Baseball Biography Project
• Tony Taylorat Baseball Almanac