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

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player who appeared in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as an

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

er for the New York Giants and Detroit Tigers for all or parts of five seasons (–).

Baseball career

Minor leagues

Taylor was born in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11 ...

. He threw and batted left-handed and was listed as tall and . He signed with the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks in 1947 and was acquired by the Giants during the 1950 minor league baseball season. He spent most of 1953 with the Giants' Double-A minor league affiliate, the

Nashville Volunteers The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...

. After posting a .350

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in 107 games for Nashville, he was promoted to the Giants' Triple-A farm club, the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

. He played 47 games for the Millers, batting .223 with seven home runs.

In Major League Baseball

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

Mario Picone Mario Peter Picone (July 5, 1926 – October 23, 2013), nicknamed "Babe", was an Italian American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Redlegs in part of three seasons spanning 1947–1954. List ...

and

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

against Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher

Don Newcombe Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed "Newk", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball who played for the Newark Eagles (1944–45), Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949–1 ...

. He spent the entire 1954 season with the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

champion Giants, appearing in 55 games and getting 12 hits in 65 at bats for a .185

. He also hit two

s, had ten

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

and scored four runs. He played nine games in the field without an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

, seven in left field as

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Monte Irvin Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin (February 25, 1919 – January 11, 2016) was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles (1938–1942, 1946–1948), New York Giant ...

's backup, and two in right field backing up

Don Mueller Donald Frederick Mueller (April 14, 1927 – December 28, 2011) was a professional baseball player who played mainly as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for 12 seasons from 1948 until 1959. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and ...

. Although the Giants won the

1954 World Series The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Ind ...

in four games that season, Taylor did not see any playing time in the Fall Classic. Taylor again spent the entire season with the Giants in . He played in 65 games and had 17 hits in 64 at-bats for a .266 batting average, while hitting four home runs and a .516 slugging percentage. He played just two games in the field, both in right field. In , he played most of the season back in the minors with the Millers, but did appear in one game for the Giants, getting a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

in four at-bats. In , he again played most of the season with the Millers, and went hitless in 11 games and nine

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for the Giants. 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. After rosters were cut from 28 to 25 men in May, he spent most of 1958 with the Tigers' top affiliate, the

Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playi ...

. He started 1959 with Charleston, but moved to the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization in midseason. He also played for the Bisons in 1960 and 1961. 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. He hit 7 home runs, and 26 runs batted in and 17 runs scored, a .264 on-base percentage and a .405 slugging percentage. Of his 149 Major League games, he only played in the field in 18, all in the outfield. As a fielder, he made 13 putouts with no assists and no errors, for a career fielding percentage of 1.000. He also played in 1261 minor league games between 1947 and 1961, with a .311 batting average and 186 home runs.

Winter leagues

Taylor also played for the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

and

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

of the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. 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. Taylor died on September 15, 2011, in Antelope Valley, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Bill 1929 births 2011 deaths Bremerton Bluejackets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Senators players Detroit Tigers players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball outfielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Nashville Vols players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Giants (NL) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Phoenix Senators players Sioux City Soos players Sportspeople from Alhambra, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California