Tony Taylor (baseball)
| Tony Taylor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Second baseman | |||
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Born: December 19, 1935 Central Alava, Cuba |
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| 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 | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Antonio Nemesio (Sanchez) Taylor (born December 19, 1935 in Central Alava, Cuba) is a former Cuban professional baseball player. He spent 19-years in Major League Baseball playing for the Chicago Cubs (1958–60), Philadelphia Phillies (1960–71 and 1974–76), and Detroit Tigers (1971–73) as a second baseman. He batted and threw right-handed. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 2002.
Taylor posted a career .261 batting average with 75 home runs and 598 RBI in 2195 games.
Taylor had signed at age 18 as third baseman in the New York Giants organization but didn't go there and make their roster, but came to the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs in 1958 where he was their starting second baseman in 1958 and 1959.
Tony Taylor had a small role in one of baseball history's weirdest plays. It took place during a game played on June 30, 1959, between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. Stan Musial was at the plate, with a count of 3–1. Bob Anderson's next pitch was errant, evading catcher Sammy Taylor and rolling all the way to the backstop. Umpire Vic Delmore called ball four, however Anderson and Taylor contended that Musial foul tipped the ball. Because the ball was still in play, and because Delmore was embroiled in an argument with the catcher and pitcher, Musial took it upon himself to try for second base. Seeing that Musial was trying for second, third baseman Alvin Dark ran to the backstop to retrieve the ball. The ball wound up in the hands of field announcer Pat Pieper, but Dark ended up getting it back anyway. Absentmindedly, however, Delmore pulled out a new ball and gave it to Taylor. Anderson finally noticed that Musial was trying for second, took the new ball, and threw it to second baseman Taylor. Anderson's throw flew over Tony Taylor's head into the outfield. Dark, at the same time that Anderson threw the new ball, threw the original ball to shortstop Ernie Banks. Musial, though, did not see Dark's throw and only noticed Anderson's ball fly over the second baseman's head, so he tried to go to third base. On his way there, he was tagged by Banks, and after a delay he was ruled out.
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