Brien McKeiver Taylor (born December 26, 1971) is a former
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
in
minor league baseball. He spent seven seasons in the minor leagues, primarily with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
organization. In his career, he had a
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
of 22–30, a 5.12
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA), and 425
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s.
Born in
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Carteret County, North Carolina, Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina (after Bath, Nor ...
, Taylor attended East Carteret High School, where his pitching ability caused him to be chosen by the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
with the
first overall selection in the
1991 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft.
Supplemental first round selections
Compensation picks
Other notable players
*Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philade ...
. After two full seasons in the minor leagues, he injured his shoulder in a fight, and was ineffective after returning to baseball. He retired in 2000, having never played a game above
Class AA
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...
. He is one of three players to be drafted first overall in the
Major League Baseball Draft
The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...
and never play in the major leagues, along with
Steve Chilcott
Steven Lynn Chilcott (born September 23, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in minor league baseball as a catcher from 1966 to 1972. Chilcott was chosen as the first overall selection in the 1966 Major League Ba ...
and
Brady Aiken.
Early life and MLB draft
Taylor was born in
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Carteret County, North Carolina, Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina (after Bath, Nor ...
, on December 26, 1971, to parents Willie Ray, who worked as a mason, and Bettie, who was a crab picker at the local seafood facility.
He was the second of four children, and was named after the lead character in the movie ''
Brian's Song
''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ...
''.
[ Taylor attended ]East Carteret High School
East Carteret High School is a public high school located in Beaufort, North Carolina. It serves 13 Down East communities, Merrimon, South River, North River, and Beaufort. Harkers Island is zoned to East Carteret High.
Athletics
East Carteret H ...
in Beaufort and played on the school baseball team. In high school, Taylor had a win–loss record of 29-6 and an earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) of 1.25. He also struck out
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...
213 hitters in 88 innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
while walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...
28. His fastball often hit 98 and 99 mph. The New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
selected Taylor with the first overall selection in the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft.
Supplemental first round selections
Compensation picks
Other notable players
*Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philade ...
, and he signed Scott Boras
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...
as an advisor, who said of him in 2006, "Brien Taylor, still to this day, is the best high school pitcher I've seen in my life."[
The Yankees offered Taylor $300,000 to sign a minor league contract, the typical amount given to the first overall draft choice at that time.][ However, Boras advised the Taylor family that the previous year's top-rated high school pitcher, ]Todd Van Poppel
Todd Matthew Van Poppel (born December 9, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics (, –), Detroit Tigers (1996), Texas Rangers (, –), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998), Chicago Cubs (–), and Cincinnati R ...
, was given more than $1.2 million to sign with the Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
, and turned down a scholarship to the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in the process. The Taylors held out for a three-year $1.2 million contract, even though they had less leverage because Brien's poor grades in high school prevented him from getting a major college scholarship offer. They threatened the Yankees that Taylor would not sign and instead attend Louisburg College
Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina.
History
Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held its fir ...
, a local junior college, to convince the Yankees to agree to their terms. The Yankees were without the official services of owner George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
, who was serving a suspension at the time, but through the media, Steinbrenner said that if the Yankees let Taylor get away, "they should be shot." Taylor signed for $1.55 million on August 26, the day before his classes were set to begin. Further delay would have meant the deal could not be signed until after the school year ended, which coincided with the following year's draft.[
]
Baseball career
The Yankees originally planned to bring Taylor up through the minor leagues rapidly, like the Mets did with Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...
. However, they found that he needed a better move to first base to hold base runners, and elected not to expedite his major league debut.[ Before even playing a game, he was named the game's top prospect by '']Baseball America
''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
'' before the 1992 season. He began his professional career with the Fort Lauderdale Yankees
The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees ...
, the Yankees' Class-A Advanced minor league affiliate. His performances with Fort Lauderdale included throwing nine strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s against the Osceola Astros
Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a Scotsman, James McQ ...
in an 8–5 victory, as well as a 12-strikeout, two-hit performance in September against the West Palm Beach Expos
The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida.
History
The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and pla ...
. For the season, Taylor had a 6–8 win–loss record, a 2.57 ERA, and 187 strikeouts in 161.1 innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
.
The next year, Taylor took the stage for the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees
The Albany-Colonie Yankees were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Eastern League from 1983 to 1994. They were located in Colonie, New York, and played their home games at Heritage Park. The team was known as the Albany A ...
, where the Yankees planned to have Taylor work on his curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
, as they already felt that his fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...
was good enough for the major leagues. Entering the season, he was named baseball's second-best prospect behind Chipper Jones
Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...
.[ That year, Taylor had a 13–7 record, a 3.48 ERA, and 150 strikeouts in 163 innings, and also led the Eastern League with 102 walks issued.][ In 1994, he was expected to pitch for the Triple-A ]Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...
of the International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
, and start for the Yankees to begin the 1995 season at the latest, dependent on how well he would have performed in spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
.[ After the season ended, the Yankees wanted Taylor to take part in an instructional league to work on his fundamentals. Taylor declined to attend the camp, and instead chose to return to his home in North Carolina.
On December 18, 1993, Taylor was injured while defending his brother Brenden in a fistfight. '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that Brenden confronted a man named Ron Wilson, who he had fought with in Harlowe, North Carolina. Brenden suffered head lacerations during his fight with Wilson. Once Brien discovered his brother had been hurt, he and a cousin went to Wilson's trailer home to confront him. There, Taylor got into an altercation with Jamie Morris, Wilson's friend, and Taylor fell on his shoulder. According to Wilson, Taylor attempted to throw a haymaker at Morris, but missed, which caused the injury.[ In the hours following the altercation, Boras told reporters the injury was just a bruise. However, when the Yankees made arrangements for Taylor to visit Dr. ]Frank Jobe
Frank James Jobe (July 16, 1925 – March 6, 2014) was an American orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Jobe pioneered both elbow ligament replacement and major reconstructive shoulder surgery for basebal ...
, he called the injury one of the worst he'd seen.[ The following week, Jobe performed surgery to repair tears in the capsule and ]glenoid labrum
The glenoid labrum (glenoid ligament) is a fibrocartilaginous structure (not a fibrocartilage as previously thought) rim attached around the margin of the glenoid cavity in the shoulder blade. The shoulder joint is considered a ball and socket ...
of Taylor's shoulder, which caused him to miss the entire 1994 season.
Taylor returned to baseball in 1995, and spent the season with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Yankees
The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball e ...
. When he returned in action, after surgery, he had lost eight miles an hour off his fastball and was unable to throw a curveball for a strike.[ As a result, in his first season back, he had two wins, five losses, a 6.08 ERA, and 54 walks issued in 40 innings pitched.][ The Yankees planned to have Taylor spend the 1996 season with the Double-A ]Norwich Navigators
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, but he continued to struggle with his control in spring training, saying at one point, "Sometimes I get the ball across the plate, sometimes I feel like I've never held a ball in my life". He instead spent the year with the Single-A Greensboro Bats
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
and walked 43 batters in 16.1 innings, going 0–5 with an astonishing 18.73 ERA in nine starts, none of which lasted past the third inning; the Yankees outrighted him from their 40-man roster
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...
as a result.
Taylor spent the next two seasons in Greensboro. In 1997, he walked 52 batters in 27 innings, going 1-4 with a 14.33 ERA in eight games, and in 1998, he went 0-1 with a 9.59 ERA in 13 games.[ He was released by the Yankees at the end of the 1998 season, and signed with the ]Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
the following year. With the Mariners, Taylor took part in extended spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
but was released in June due to his inconsistency. After the 1999 season, the Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
signed him to a contract and placed him with the Class-A Columbus RedStixx
The Columbus RedStixx were a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia. They were a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and a farm team of the Cleveland Indians.
The RedStixx played home games at Golden Park, except during 1996. The ...
. In 2 2/3 innings pitched over five games for Columbus, he gave up five hits, nine walks and eight runs for a 27.00 ERA.[
]
After baseball
After retiring from baseball, Taylor moved to Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
, with his five daughters and worked as a UPS
UPS or ups may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* United Parcel Service, an American shipping company
** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary
** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary
* Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...
package handler, then worked as a beer distributor.[ By 2006, he had moved back home and was working as a bricklayer with his father.][
In March 2012, Taylor was charged with cocaine trafficking after undercover narcotics agents purchased a large quantity of cocaine and crack cocaine from him over a period of several months. He was federally indicted on cocaine trafficking charges in June 2012. Taylor pleaded guilty in August 2012 and was sentenced to 50 months in prison, followed by three years' supervised release; he was released on September 12, 2015.]
References
External links
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Brien
1971 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
Albany-Colonie Yankees players
American bricklayers
American drug traffickers
American sportspeople convicted of crimes
Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from North Carolina
Columbus RedStixx players
Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
Gulf Coast Yankees players
Greensboro Bats players
People from Beaufort, North Carolina
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople