Bill Taylor (baseball)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bill Taylor
Runs batted in
26
Teams
Career highlights and awards

William Michael Taylor (December 30, 1929 – September 15, 2011) was an American

New York Giants and Detroit Tigers for all or parts of five seasons (1954–1958).[1]

Baseball career

Minor leagues

Taylor was born in

minor league baseball
season.
Nashville Volunteers. After posting a .350 batting average with 22 home runs in 107 games for Nashville, he was promoted to the Giants' Triple-A farm club, the Minneapolis Millers. He played 47 games for the Millers, batting .223 with seven home runs.[2]

In Major League Baseball

Taylor made his Major League debut for the Giants on April 14, 1954,

Hall of Famer Monte Irvin's backup, and two in right field backing up Don Mueller.[1] Although the Giants won the 1954 World Series in four games that season, Taylor did not see any playing time in the Fall Classic.[5]

Taylor again spent the entire season with the Giants in

at bats for the Giants.[1][2]

On September 14, he was sold to the Detroit Tigers, and played in nine games for the Tigers. The 1958 campaign was Taylor's final season in the Major Leagues. He played in eight early-season games, all but one as a pinch hitter, and getting three hits in 8 at bats for a .375 batting average.[1] After rosters were cut from 28 to 25 men in May, he spent most of 1958 with the Tigers' top affiliate, the Charleston Senators.[2] He started 1959 with Charleston, but moved to the Buffalo Bisons in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization in midseason.[2] He also played for the Bisons in 1960 and 1961.[2]

In his Major League career, Taylor played 149 games over five seasons and had 41 hits in 173 at-bats for a .237 batting average.[1][6] He hit 7 home runs, and 26 runs batted in and 17 runs scored, a .264 on-base percentage and a .405 slugging percentage.[1][6] Of his 149 Major League games, he only played in the field in 18, all in the outfield.[1] As a fielder, he made 13 putouts with no assists and no errors, for a career fielding percentage of 1.000.[1][7] He also played in 1261 minor league games between 1947 and 1961, with a .311 batting average and 186 home runs.[2]

Winter leagues

Taylor also played for the Navegantes del Magallanes and Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League. He set two records while playing with Magallanes in the 1953–1954 season, when he became the first player in the league's history to hit three home runs in a single game, and for setting a new season mark with 16 home runs.[8][9]

Taylor died on September 15, 2011, in

Antelope Valley, California.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Bill Taylor". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Bill Taylor minor leagues". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  3. ^ Glamor Rookies of '51. Baseball Digest. January 1951. p. 42. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  4. ^ "Brooklyn Dodgers 6, New York Giants 4". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  5. ^ "1954 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  6. ^ a b "Bill Taylor Batting". The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  7. ^ "Bill Taylor Fielding". The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  8. ISBN 978-980-6996-01-4
  9. ^ Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics – Bill Taylor entry
  10. ^ "Bill Taylor". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Taylor_(baseball)&oldid=1175660120"