Ron Taylor: 1969 World Champion Mets Closer Turned Medical Doctor (1967 - 1971 )

Ronald Wesley Taylor was born December 13, 1937, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Irish Canadians, living in Toronto's north end. Ron had an older sister named Carole.

Taylor was originally a left hander, but his mother feared he would suffer cardiovascular issues & tied his hand behind his back, so he'd throw right-handed.

He was signed as a teenager by the Cleveland Indians in 1956.

College Degree: He pitched in the minors but also chose to finish his studies at the University of Toronto where he earned an electrical engineering degree.

MLB Career: He began the 1962 season on the Indians staff & got the start in the second game of the season at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. He pitched 11 shut outs innings matching zeroes with future Mets coach Bill Monbouquette. In the 12th inning of the scoreless tie Carl Yastrzemski lead off with a triple.

Taylor ended up allowing a walk off grand slam to Caroll Hardy, taking a tough loss. It was the only time in history a game was won with a walk off grand slam in the 12th inning of a scoreless tie. 

By the end of May he was sent back down & went 12-4 at AAA Jacksonville, earning a big league call up the next season, this time for good.

That winter he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and became a top reliever in their pen saving 11 games (7th in the league) with a 9-7 record and a 2.34 ERA. He struck out 91 batters in 131 innings pitched. 

In 1964 he was going 8-4 with seven saves & a 4.62 ERA winning his first World Championship with the Cardinals.

1964 World Series: Taylor appeared in two World Series games, not allowing any hits in 4.2 innings pitched earning the save in Game #4. 

With the Cards already down two games to one, a win in Game #4 was very important. In the top of the 6th Ken Boyer hit a grand slam R off Al Downing put the Cards ahead 4-3. Taylor came on & pitched four shutout innings, holding a one run lead. It was the turning point of the Series as St. Louis went on to win the series over New York in seven games.

Quotes: Tim McCarver - “He had the heaviest sinker on the outside. When he threw to left-handed batters you couldn’t pull it.”

In 1965 he was 2-1 with a save and an ERA creeping up near five, when on June 15th he was traded along with Mike Cuellar to the Houston Astros for Chuck Taylor and Hal Woodeshick. 

After saving four games in Houston’s new Astrodome, he became a middle reliever for the 1966 season & not happy with his surroundings.

In February of 1967 Taylor’s contract was purchased by the New York Mets, by the teams GM Bing Devine, whom Taylor had pitched for in St. Louis. 

In the off-season Devine had called Taylor & asked if he could pitch; Taylor replied, " get me out of here".

Mets Career: In New York he would see a lot of action in relief. A change of scenery revitalized his career as he became one of the league’s best relievers. In those days the relief pitcher was just starting to become an important role.

Taylor would make made over 50 appearances in each of the next four seasons (1967-1970) and lead the team in saves each time. 

Taylor notched a save in his first Met game on April 13, 1967, although it was not an official stat at the time. On April 17th he gave up a HR to the Pirates Manny Jimenez, it was the only HR he gave up all season in 50 appearances.

He was 2-2 with three saves at the 1967 All Star break.  In the second half he was 2-3 with five saves posting a 2.08 ERA.

He finished the season at 4-6 with eight saves & a 2.34 ERA in 50 appearances. Right hand batters hit just .215 against him.

1968: The Mets losing ways were about to change as Gil Hodges now took over as manager & the teams culture changed.

Taylor recorded his first save at the end of April. He had a good month of June, recording four saves, while only allowing runs in two of nine games he pitched. On June 23rd, he gave up a HR to the Dodgers Ted Savage, it was the first HR he allowed in the last 92 innings dating back to April 1967.

On July 7th, he blew a save in Philadelphia, serving up a walk off three run HR to the Phillies Dick Allen. Taylor only blew two save opportunities all year, but his record fell to 1- 5.

He pitched well enough to set a Mets record at the time, with 13 saves, (5th most in the league) posting another good ERA (2.70) striking out 49 batters in 76 innings pitched.

Tour of Vietnam: In the off season he joined other major leaguers on a tour of hospital visits in Vietnam during the war effort. There he talked to doctors & later said he realized that he wanted to help people in this field in the future.

1969 Mets Championship Season: In 1969 Taylor didn’t earn his first save until mid-May, but then from that point through the end of August he saved twelve games going 7-3 with a 2.39 ERA. 

On June 1st he picked up a win, when Ron Swoboda drew a bases loaded walk off Joe Gibbon to beat the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Two days later in his next outing, after pitching two scoreless innings, he got another win when Wayne Garrett hit a walk off single to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. He followed that week up with three more saves through June 10th.

Trivia: During a regular season game, Taylor got a visit to the mound from Gil Hodges against the eventual Mets NLCS opponent the Atlanta Braves. With Hank Aaron up to bat, Hodges told Taylor to put him on & face Orlando Cepeda. Taylor said “No, I want Aaron”. 

Hodges was surprised at his answer & angry, but he let him face Aaron & said “You better get him out”. He got Aaron to ground out to end the inning.

He closed out the year with a September 28th save in Philadelphia & an October 1st win at Wrigley Field, after Art Shamsky's 11th inning RBI base hit beating the Chicago Cubs.

Overall, Taylor was Gil Hodges best pitcher out of the bullpen that year making 59 appearances (8th most in the NL), leading the team with 13 saves (7th best in the NL) Finishing 44 games (4th in the league), going 9-4 with a 2.72 ERA. He struck out 42 batters walking only 24 in 76 innings pitched.

At the plate he batted .250 going 1-4.

1969 Post Season- NLCS: In the 1969 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, Taylor pitched in two games, starting out by earning the save in relief of Tom Seaver in Game #1. Historically, he earned the first save in NLCS history.

The next day he got the win in Game #2 relieving Jerry Koosman in the 5th inning. He pitched 1.1 innings allowing no runs on one hit & setting up for Tug McGraw to close it out.

Overall, he struck out four Braves, allowing no runs on three hits in 3.1 innings pitched. Taylor made history by being the only Canadian to ever get credit with a win in a League Championship Series game.

1969 World Series: In the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, Taylor saw action in the
first two Series games at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. 

In Game #1 Taylor pitched the last two innings of the 4-1 Met loss. He allowed no runs on two hits & striking out three Orioles.

In Game #2 he relieved Jerry Koosman in the 9th inning with two Orioles runners on base representing the tying & winning runs. Taylor got Brooks Robinson to ground out to Ed Charles on a 3-2 count securing the two-hit shutout, evening the Series at one game apiece heading back to New York.

He wasn’t needed again in the World Series, as Nolan Ryan was the only pitcher to make another relief appearance. 

Overall, in the 1969 post season, Taylor appeared in four games, notching a win & two saves. He didn't allow any runs struck out seven & walked one in 5.2 innings of work.

Career Post Season: After pitching 3.1 hitless innings in the 1969 Series, he bested his World Series streak to seven hitless shutout innings. 

In six career post season games, he pitched 10.1 shutout innings, allowing three hits, struck out nine batters & waked two.

Quotes- Ron Taylor: "After we won, we were riding down Broadway in that ticker tape parade & the crowds were cheering & the paper was floating from those office buildings. I couldn't stop thinking that this was the path that MacArthur, Eisenhower & Kennedy had ridden. I never felt so euphoric".

After the Championship: After the Miracle season of ’69, he would again lead the 1970 Mets in appearances (57) games finished (40 which was 8th best in the league) and saves (13) going 5-4 with a 3.93 ERA.

 On Opening Day 1970, he was the winning pitcher in Pittsburgh after Donn Clendenon won the game with a top of the 11th inning RBI single. It made him the first Mets opening day winning pitcher in the teams' history, since they had never won a season opener until 1970. 

Taylor saved three games in April but also suffered two losses & a blown save. He would earn saves in his next five opportunities before taking a 9th inning loss at Cincinnati on June 17th.

In a June series at Wrigley Field, he earned wins in back-to-back games to get to 4-4 on the year. 

In a July 19th twin bill in San Francisco, he gave up RBI hits in the first game to Ken Henderson & Dick Dietz in the 7th inning, blowing a Mets lead & taking the loss. He blew a 9th inning lead in the nightcap but was save when Joy Foy homered in the 10th inning & Taylor retired the side in order in the bottom half of the inning.

In August he saved two more games & earned a win at Cincinnati. The Mets ended August 1.5 games out of first place, but lost pace thru September. Taylor only appeared in four September games. In 1970 e was 5-4 with 13 saves, he struck out 28 & walked 16 in 66.1 innings in 57 appearances.

Although he was ninth in the league in saves (13) he also had six blown opportunities & had an ERA near four.

1971: By 1971 Tug McGraw as well as Danny Frisella were emerging as the Mets premier relievers. Taylor’s was 33 years old & his career began winding down. That season would be his last year in New York, he went 2-2 with only two saves & a 3.65 ERA in 45 appearances. 

Mets Career: In five seasons with the Mets, he was 21-21 with 28 saves in 269 appearances. Taylor struck out 197 walked 92 in 361.1 innings of work posting a 3.04 ERA.

Post Mets Career: His contract was sold to the Montreal Expos in October of 1971, but he was soon released, never getting to play for his native Canada. 

In May he got picked up by the San Diego Padres where he ended his career at age 34, after appearing in just four games for the 1972 Padres.

Career Stats: Overall, Ron Taylor was 45-43 with 71 saves, 464 strike outs 209 walks in 800 innings and a 3.93 ERA in 491 games over 11 seasons.

Retirement: After the Mets World Series win, he toured Vietnam with the USO. Taylor would tour field hospitals & be inspired to make a difference. He took wounded soldiers phone numbers to let their loved ones know they were alright.

Doctor Ron Taylor: After his baseball career, the Toronto native returned to the University of Toronto & met with the dean to try to earn a degree. When he saw his grades from 1961, he was amazed & said if you can still get these kinds of marks, you're in. 

Taylor got into his studies, using a letter of recommendation from Mets General Manager M. Donald Grant & he was back in college. 

He remembers how the young students were amazed that this middle-aged guy was their classmate. Five years later in 1977, he graduated from medical school and became Doctor Ron Taylor.

He eventually became the Toronto Blue Jays team physician in 1979 & won two more World Series (1992 & 1993) as the teams Doctor. He is the only former MLB player to return to baseball as a team doctor.

Ron Taylor always keeps very busy, even into his seventies. He finally retired in 2015 at his family practice in North Toronto. 

He was also the head of a Sports Medicine Clinic he helped develop some 30 years ago in Toronto. Taylor was also the medical director for the Toronto Blue Jays, overseeing a team of sports specialists. 

Honors: In 2015 a documentary was made about him called "Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball".

Taylor was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He has also been honored for his work in medicine being elected to the Order of Ontario. 

In 2009 Taylor was on hand for the Mets 40th anniversary of the 1969 Championship at Citi Field & Long Island Memorabilia show. 

In 2019 he returned to Citi Field for the 50th Anniversary of the Amazing Mets.

Family: Ron’s son Drew Taylor pitched College baseball for Georgia Tech. & Michigan. He was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2006.

Quotes Ron Taylor (1969): "Doubleheader tomorrow, barring nuclear holocaust." - Mets Pitcher