I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th.
Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great Neck Middle School in Virginia Beach. There he was on the wrestling team and won a city wrestling championship. Chris then went to high school at Frank W. Cox in Virginia Beach. He quit wrestling to concentrate on baseball and was named All-Tidewater region player of the year in 2009.
He was recruited by Willam and Mary and the University of Virginia to play baseball. He chose UV. He played sparingly in his freshman year and then played summer collegiate ball for the Newport Gulls of the NECBL. Taylor started his sophomore year as his team’s starting right fielder with Stephen Bruno named the team’s starting SS. Taylor took over when Bruno went down with hamstring issues and retained the job after Bruno returned. In 2011, Taylor hit a two-out single to drive in the tying and winning runs as UV defeated UC Irvine in the Charlottesville Super Regionals to send UV to the college world series. That summer, he played for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League.
Chris was taken by the Mariners in the 5th round of the 2012 draft with the 151st pick. Chris started at Rookie level but was quickly promoted. He played for the High Desert Mavericks of the California League and the AA Jackson Generals of the Southern League. He hit a combined .314 with 165 hits, 8 homers, 60 driven in, 108 runs scored and 38 stolen bases playing SS and 2nd base. After the season he was sent to Peoria of the AFL. He hit .294 with .351 OBP while playing SS and 2nd.
The Mariners invited Chris to spring training in 2014. After spring training, he was sent to Tacoma in the PCL. He appeared in the PCL’s All-Star game and was named the PCL’s top player. He hit .328 with 5 homers, 37 driven in and 63 runs scored in 75 games. Seattle called him up on July 24th to replace the injured Willie Bloomquist. He got his first MLB hit, a single that night off of When-Yin Chen of the Orioles. He hit .287 in 47 games with Seattle.
During spring training in 2015, he was hit on the wrist by a pitch and his wrist was fractured. He went to AAA Tacoma and hit .300 in 86 games. He played just 37 games in the majors that year and hit .170 in 94 at bats. In 2016, he was called up to replace the injured Ketel Marte. He went 1-3 in two games. On June 19th, 2016, he was traded to the Dodgers for pitcher, Zach Lee. GM Jerry Dipoto would later express regret calling it the worst trade he ever made. Taylor played in 34 games for the 2016 Dodgers. He did not exactly shine at the plate hitting just .207 in 58 at bats. But he did have his first great Dodger moment. On July 15th, Chris hit his first career homer, a grand slam off of Silvino Bracho of the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
He also doubled, tripled, and drove in 6 runs. He was just a single shy of a cycle. He became the 3rd Dodger in the team’s history whose first homer was a grand slam, Preston Ward in 1948, and light hitting SS Chico Fernandez in 1956. he also became the third Dodger second baseman to drive home 6 runs in a game, Billy Herman 1943 and Jackie Robinson 1949. Little trivia here, Fernandez was traded to Philadelphia for 5 players, Tim Harkness, Elmer Valo, Ron Negray, Mel Geho, Ben Flowers and 75,000 dollars. Over the winter, Taylor worked on retooling his swing just as Justin Turner had done after the 2014 season. Not sure which batting coach he worked with, but most likely judging from the results, it was Van Scoyoc.
Taylor started the 2017 season with OKC. He hit just .233 in 43 at bats. He was called up on April 19th. On July 16th, he hit his first career walk-off homer, a 2-run shot that drove in Logan Forsythe for a 5-4 LA win. Chris hit .288 for the season with 21 homers, 72 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. The downside was he struck out 142 times, but he had an .850 OPS. He was 3-13 in the LDS against Arizona, but he was 6-19 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs in the LCS against the Cubs. He was named Co-MVP with Justin Turner. He was 6-27 in the World Series against Houston with a homer and 3 driven in. During that season, he played CF, LF, 3rd, 2nd and SS.
Chris returned to his utility role in 2018. With Corey Seager out for the year, he played the bulk of his games at SS, 81 games, 73 starts until the traded for Manny Machado just after the All-Star break. He also played LF, CF, 2nd and 3rd. He led the NL in strikeouts with 178. He batted .254 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs. He had just 3 at bats in the LDS against the Braves. He did have a homer and 2 RBIS. He was 8-22 in the LCS with Milwaukee with a homer. In game 7 of the series with the Brewers, he made a tremendous running catch to keep the lead at 5-1. Cody Bellinger, who hit just .200 for the series was the MVP. He was just 2-14 against Boston in the World Series.
In 2019, Chris was back at his role as the Dodgers super-utility player. Kike was also used in this role. Chris played in 124 games at several positions including 39 at SS with Seager having another surgery. He batted .262/12/58 with 115 Ks. Just prior to the 2020 season he signed a 2-year deal avoiding arbitration. 2020 saw Chris as the primary 2nd baseman. He appeared in 56 of the Dodgers 60 games with a .270/8/32 line. In the playoffs he went 3-6 in the Wild Card, 0-8 in the LDS, 4-13 in the LCS and 5-23 in the World Series. One of his five hits was a homer.
Taylor had one of his better seasons in 21, batting .254/20/73. His strikeouts again climbed to 167. He was selected to the All-Star team for the first time. He played in 140 games, most of them in the outfield. The Dodgers finished 2nd in the West to the surprising Giants, so they had to play the Cardinals as the Wild Card team. LA had traded for Trea Turner and Max Scherzer at the deadline and Turner was the new 2nd baseman.
It was Scherzer against Wainright in the game. Scherzer went 4.1 innings and allowed 1 run. Wainright went 5.1 and the only run he allowed was a homer by Justin Turner. The teams traded zeros heading into the bottom of the 9th. TJ McFarland came in to pitch the 9th for the Birds. He got the first 2 outs. He then walked Bellinger. St. Louis brought in Alex Reyes to face Taylor, who had replaced Pollock in left field a couple innings earlier. Bellinger stole 2nd. Taylor then hit a walk-off homer to left sending LA to the LDS.
Chris was just 2-14 against the Giants with 1 RBI. LA then took on the Braves in the 21 LCS. LA lost the first two games, won game 3 and then lost game 4. Facing elimination in game five, the LA offense woke up, and the catalyst was Chris Taylor. Taylor homered 3 times, driving in 6 runs, AJ Pollock homered twice and drove in 4. LA won 11-2 and lived to play another day. The Braves 2 runs scored on a homer by Freddie Freeman, who in 22 would be wearing Dodger blue.
After the 21 season, LA signed Taylor to a 4-year 60-million-dollar contract with an option year. There were some reasons behind this, first, Corey Seager was leaving the team as a free agent and Trea Turner was moving to SS. The Dodgers other high profile utility man, Kike Hernandez also left as a free agent, signing with the Red Sox. Taylor played in just 118 games batting just .221/10/43. He struck out 160 times. From 23-25 Chris spent a lot of time on the IL. His performance suffered accordingly. Although he bounced back some in 23, .237/15/56 in 117 games, in 24-25 he played in just 145 games total. In June of 2023, he hit his 100th career homer, a grand slam off of Reynaldo Lopez of the White Sox becoming the first player in MLB history to hit a grand slam as both his first and 100th homer.
Chris started 2025 off pretty much the same as 24, injured. He played in just 28 games and was released. He signed with the Angels and finished 25 there. He went to spring training with the Angels this year but was injured and sent to Salt Lake City where he finally announced his retirement. Although his contract may have been deemed by many fans as a huge mistake, at the time the front office deemed it needed. Chris was a true team player. You never heard a single complaint from the guy. He just played any position they asked and did his job. Thanks for the memories Chris.
Rookie League Game Reports
ACL Brewers 2 – ACL Dodgers 0 – Botton of 3rd Suspended
DSL Red Sox Blue 3 – DSL LAD Bautista 2 – 7 innings
DH Rubel Arias had one of the two hits. It was a solo HR (3).
LHSP Tom Apfelbaum completed 3.0 scoreless innings. He surrendered 1 single, 3 BB, and registered 4 K.
DSL Red Sox Red 6 – DSL LAD Mega 2 – 7 innings
RF Erny Orellana had the only DSL LAD Mega hit. After 2 first inning BB, Orellana hit a 2-run double (9).
RHRP Logan Tinkam pitched 2.2 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits, 1 BB, and 4 K.
Discussion (76)
Disagree, not disagreeable
There are people in here who know a lot about baseball. I know who they are, and I respect their opinion.
MVP Belli and runner up Miguel Vargas! Who would have thunk it!
Pathetic NL lineup delivers even less than expected. Dodgers did their part. Aaron and Mays rolling over in their graves.
Maybe we should have kept all the ex Dodgers instead!
Off the top of my head. Key Dodgers in second half:
1. Snell
2. Diaz
3. Smith
4. Glasnow
5. Keekay
H.M. Ryan
In no order, to be honest
Just imagine what fans of the Mets, Marlins etc feel
Tonight’s all star lineups have to be the weakest I can ever remember
I agree with you Mark. No doubt in my mind the competition the top players face know is infinitely better than what players in the early 1900’s faced. Part of the reason they could dominate is because many of the players in the majors were far inferior to them. Most teams had a couple of good hitters and a couple of main pitchers. Pitchers didn’t face a loaded lineup and hitters may only face 1 good pitcher in a series. Just like in track and field, basketball and football today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, faster and just better all around.
Mental fatigue? What if a brain surgeon had mental fatigue? Oh well, he just made an error but he’s usually good?
There are many occupations where mental fatigue can be fatal. And the mental part of the job is far more difficult than playing baseball.
MLB players are coddled in a way they have not been in history. They don’t have to work off-season jobs. They don’t have to play or pitch as often. They play a 6 month season with 6 weeks of Spring Training and a month of post-season if they are lucky. And they are paid millions to do this.
The rest of us work year ’round. We don’t have coaches to tell us how to do our jobs or improve our performance – we figure it out on our own. We don’t have personal attendants to do everything for us so we can focus on our jobs.
There are still no excuses for coasting through a series like they did against the Snakes and the Rox. They just made 9 errors in a 5 game span. Out of 35 on the season – so more than a quarter of their errors in 5 games? What’s the excuse for that?
Effort is effort. They didn’t show effort last week. No excuses.
OK, I’m just going to come out and say it:
Baseball, like every other major sport, is radically different today than it was in the past.
That does not mean Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, or the other legends were not extraordinary players. They dominated the competition placed in front of them, and that is the only competition they could possibly face. But the idea that they could simply step out of a time machine, grab a bat, and dominate modern baseball without making major adjustments is more nostalgia than analysis.
In the old days, some of baseball’s greatest players could drink all night, sleep for three hours, arrive at the ballpark shortly before batting practice, remain legally intoxicated until the second inning, and still go 3-for-4 with a home run.
That is certainly impressive.
It also tells you something about the competition, preparation, and overall demands of the game at that time.
Today’s players arrive at the ballpark hours before the game. They lift weights, stretch, study video, analyze pitching tendencies, review heat maps, work with hitting coaches, examine their swing paths, monitor their nutrition, and prepare for a parade of pitchers throwing 97 to 102 miles per hour with breaking balls designed in laboratories by people who probably have advanced degrees in physics.
A hitter may see a starting pitcher twice, then face three different relievers, each throwing harder than the previous one. One has a 99-mph sinker. The next has a slider that moves like it has been frightened. The closer throws 101 at the top of the strike zone and follows it with a splitter that disappears beneath the Earth’s crust.
And every one of those pitchers has studied the hitter’s weaknesses.
They know how he performs against high fastballs, low sliders, inside cutters, changeups away, and pitches thrown on Tuesdays under a waxing crescent moon. Nothing is hidden anymore.
Every swing is recorded. Every weakness is identified. Every tendency is measured. Teams know which pitch a hitter struggles with, where his bat slows down, how he reacts with two strikes, and what he is likely to do in every count.
Sabermetrics has changed how players are evaluated, but technology has also changed how they are attacked.
Pitchers now train specifically to increase velocity, spin rate, movement, and deception. Hitters train to optimize bat speed, launch angle, reaction time, and swing decisions. Fielders are positioned based on detailed spray charts. Bullpens are filled with pitchers who would have been considered overpowering closers in previous generations.
The modern player is not merely competing against another athlete. He is competing against an entire organization’s research department.
Baseball has become an exhausting mental grind.
A player can no longer survive for long on talent alone. He must process enormous amounts of information, make constant mechanical adjustments, maintain his body through a 162-game season, handle nonstop media attention, and perform while millions of people armed with smartphones analyze every mistake before he reaches the dugout.
The old stars were unquestionably gifted. Many of them would probably become stars in any era because truly elite athletic ability tends to travel well through time.
But they would not simply walk into today’s game wearing wool uniforms, smoking cigarettes between innings, and start hitting .370.
They would need modern training. They would need better conditioning. They would need video study, nutritional discipline, specialized coaching, and time to adjust to the velocity, movement, preparation, and information that define today’s game.
Babe Ruth might still become Babe Ruth.
Mickey Mantle might still become Mickey Mantle.
But first, someone would have to take away the whiskey, hand them an iPad, teach them what a sweeper is, and explain why the relief pitcher entering in the seventh inning throws 100 miles per hour.
The players of the past were great for their time.
Today’s players are playing a different game… and burnout and mental fatigue is very real… like it or not!
I coached high school baseball for 45 years. I agree with philjones completely. Everyone knows the long season means that all teams will have highs and lows. Expressing frustration with the numerous mental and physical lapses doesn’t mean we think the team isn’t good or that we will play this way the rest of the year. We will lose games but don’t give them away. Hopefully we start play after the ASG in a manner we are accustomed to, win or lose.
Boy did I open a can of worms yesterday with my comments which included:
* I’m really sick of the sloppy play and lackadaisical performances.
* I’ve heard all of the reasons why these games don’t matter. And to be honest, I’m sick of hearing it. It’s not panic on my part. It’s frustration. Why bother if no games matter until October?
* Why should players with a nice cushion not play shitty; it’s called PRIDE.
* Rough patches are to be expected but I don’t have to excuse it or like it.
* Get your shit together over the break and play better on the next road trip. This is embarrassing.
Well that seemed to open a running conversation that went where elephants go to die.
It seems Badger, Bear, Dodgerdad and my favorite poster here, Tedraymond , all understood my point and expectations for this team.
I understand it’s a long season, I understand slumps, I understand human nature and I understand the demands on a professional athlete. I know how competitive they are. Guys didn’t get to the big leagues by misunderstanding the demands of the job and how to be successful.
Players can learn to channel their concentration into moments. Nobody can concentrate for 4 straight hours. But great golfers learn to get into the moment and concentrate in important moments during a round. Baseball too. Watch Mookie and Freddie bullshit with the opponents during the game and then snap back into the moment and focus when the bell rings.
These guys know how to compete and I expect them to do it. I haven’t seen that passion lately and by the looks of Doc in the dugout, he doesn’t either.
Most posters here took this discussion far beyond the parameters of my being pissed at the current poor play. Timmons wrote a sarcastic parody that the Dodgers are finished “Apparently, a championship team must play every regular-season game with the emotional intensity of Game 7.” Others sarcastically saying Doc should be fired etc. I got a ton of criticism over my disappointment of how we have played the last week.
I make no apologies for being competitive. I got where I got to in baseball, coaching and playing, by being more competitive than the next guy. I have really toned that down as I have gotten older. But, I have high expectations for this team and don’t like the recent loses.
I don’t think that’s unrealistic. When I coached, some of my most enjoyable teams weren’t very good. At least to start with. It was enjoyable to help kids improve by teaching them how to play the game better. We usually finished up being better then when we started and the kids enjoyed improving.
I had other expectations for better teams. I expected more from those teams. They were better players and I expected them to be more successful. It’s a matter of having honest expectations.
I found out that typically you get what you expect from teams. If you’re satisfied and make excuses for being shitty, you will be.
You can’t win em all, but you can certainly try.
Kiley McDaniels on the LAD draft:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49350376/mlb-draft-2026-recap-kiley-mcdaniel-analysis-all-30-teams#lad
Best value: 3B Bo Lowrance (second round) was heavily scouted for the first round this spring, especially in a big matchup against No. 29 pick LHP Carson Bolemon in which …
Quickest to the big leagues: RHP Russell Sandefer (fourth round) has some of the best command metrics in the draft and performed well for the Florida Gators in a few different roles….
Sleepers to watch: RHP Gavin Van Kempen (12th round) has pitch shapes similar to Trey Yesavage and Tatsuya Imai, with his breaking stuff moving to his arm side in a way that seems bad, but is so unexpected…
One big thought: The Dodgers had the smallest pool by a lot and one of the smaller ones of all time…
Chris Taylor was my 2017 Dodger MVP.
Coddled? Not really. Protected? More likely. The money invested in these players is astronomical! So the teams try and protect them from themselves. Players like Freddie don’t want days off. Some do. I believe the NBA started it all with what they call “rest” days. I have long argued that the average guy who really can’t afford tickets and concessions scrapes up enough to take his kid to a game only to find the kid’s favorite won’t be playing at all is a bad thing for the game. But what can be done about it? Nothing other than to just stay home. 162 games is a truck load of games. Nobody expects players to play all 162 every single season. And when they are out there, 98% are playing hard. (At least I hope so). Do I want to watch the Dodgers play with 50% of the starters on the bench? Hell no! But I understand it’s today’s game. Love him,or hate him, Pete Rose played every game like it was his last. Now days we watch players half heartedly run out ground balls. Not all but a lot. Baseball in my opinion is still the best game of all the major sports. It most closely resembles the game of 50 years ago. But the people in charge have a chance to ruin it too. The home run derby on Netflix. Didn’t see it. Not purchasing every damn streaming service out there. Soon the all star game will be on Hulu or some other streaming service. How long before the World Series is on the chipmunk app? We want our youth to see this great game and fall in love with it just like we did. Problem is lots can’t see it. And when they can see it shouldn’t the best players be in the game most of the time?
Don’t expect them to win every game. But doesn’t mean I don’t want them to win every game! Last time I checked, the whole reason we play the game is to win! A tie is only good in soccer and sometimes football! ( which makes no sense to me at all!) football should just kick field goals in sudden death until someone misses. Beats the hell out of a tie!
The all star game is going to lose its luster if they aren’t careful. It’s close now!
I am not a fan of professional sports. Unless the Dodger baseball team is playing. I used to love the Rams before Georgia effed them up. I loved the Lakers from Elgin to Kobe. I loved the Chargers until Spanos moved them. The Kings with Dionne to Gretzy. No more. Exhibitions suck. The All Star week took soooo long when I was younger and playing rotisserie. Now that I’m a grumpy old fart it goes by way to fast. Can’t wait for the second half. Attn. Dodgers! Play hard, hustle and entertain the fans for 162+. That’s what you get millions for.
Book em
If only Max Muncy had had Chris Taylor’s agent….
Anybody else going through withdrawals? I didn’t even watch the homer show last night and may watch a few innings of the ASG tonight after a few Star Trek reruns. Sorry, just can’t get excited about these showcases and exhibitions.
I didn’t see anything about the Dodgers picks other than Bo at #40. Any Mike Piazza’s out there?
So Passan thinks the Dodgers will go after Skubal..,.
Even though the Dodgers are loaded with talent, this has always seemed like a serious consideration. Milwaukee supposedly has a deeper farm system, and a greater need. He’d be a rental for the small-market Brewers– but perhaps not for the Dodgers in “let’s be pigs” mode. (This payroll could get decadent.)….
Given the concerns about Will Smith’s recovery, perhaps we’ll see a reunion with Rortvedt, now playing in the minors. The Dodgers were impressed enough last season to sign him to a contract and hope he would clear waivers.
Sure, every team is motivated when the play the champs. They want to show that they are pros also. But on the other hand Arizona had a losing record before this series, so thats not how they were playing before.
Few play 162 anymore. 1470 players saw action in MLB last season. 6 played 162 games. No pitcher starts 36 (let alone 40) and few even go 200 innings anymore. Just look at stats from yesteryear and see the difference. There are no longer any Iron men in baseball. The era of the everyday player has drastically changed. I can’t say what it’s like to be a professional baseball player. But I most certainly wish I had the opportunity to do that instead of what I did do. I loved playing ball. I did it every chance I could from as far back as I can remember.
Nobody expects the Dodgers to win every game. Nobody here has said that. What was said is the Dodgers often look like they are on cruise control. They sure did against Arizona. They have had stretches where they look like they’d rather be somewhere else. It’s frustrating for many of us to see.
What I have found interesting in watching nearly every game for the last few years – I’ve never seen a team playing the Dodgers that had that look. Every team that plays the Dodgers want to beat them and they play like it. Do those teams have stretches where they go on cruise control? The good ones might, but I never saw that when I lived in Arizona watching the dbacks. I never saw it when I lived in Wisconsin watching the Twins, or watching the giants when I lived in Northern California. In my experience cruise control is specific to the Dodgers. Being old school I don’t like to see it. All of those guys get paid bank to play a child’s game. All of them have health care, guaranteed retirement and months of paid vacation time. We fans ask only one thing of them – act like you appreciate what we’ve given you. Show up for work and give those fans who might have just paid a weeks wages to bring their family to see you play something positive to remember by hustling.
End rant.
Really good take right there, Watford.
Just wondering why Ranger Suarez made the team and not Sonny Gray? Match ups are not important and neither are southpaws. Just pick the most deserving player. Any thoughts?
Book em
News from around the league. Walker of the Cardinals won the HR Derby-yawn. He beat Schwarber. A’s fired their pitching coach, Scott Emerson, BP coach Dan Hubbs takes over. Reds receiving trade interest in Spencer Steer. Arreaz says he hopes to remain at 2nd if he gets traded by the Giants, a huge possibility. Padres signed OF Dustin Harris to a minor league deal. Rangers released Jonah Bride. The Cardinals signed JJ Wetherholt to an 8-year-extension. Finally, Jeff Passan reports that the most likely destination for Tarik Skubal if he is traded is the Dodgers. He believes Freidman will make the deal if it is at all feasible. I have eye injections this morning. I was going to finish this post later today, but they published it early, so I made revisions.
Nice read about CT3 Michael. He was a good Dodger. The 4 year contract was a mistake but AF couldn’t have foreseen the drop off that was so severe.
Bluto – yes the England fans serenading Jude was something to behold. We are very fortunate to be contesting a World Cup Semi Final tomorrow, and he is the main reason.
I read the discussion on the poor performance against the D’Backs (who everyone seems to underestimate), versus the desire to compete at 100% commitment in all 162 games. When I played sport, which I did a lot, all year round playing both soccer and cricket, I always, always gave my all. Always. I absolutely hated losing. It would ruin my evening or my weekend if we lost.
However, I never played a 162 game season, and particularly on consecutive days, multiple days or even 14 days in a row. That must be real challenging. Challenging enough that without even noticing, subconsciously if you will, your performance must dip a little. Baseball is a very mental game – confidence is key, and sometimes when your confidence is low, it can appear that you are not trying, or perhaps you can come across as lacking in intensity. To that end I think both arguments hold merit.
The Trade Deadline looms large but it shouldn’t be forgotten that we should be getting, Diaz and Snell, two elite players, Glasnow, who is in the next tier below, plus Kiké who brings some intangibles to the team.
Of course we should be getting Will Smith back as well, one of, if not, the best in the game.
If any other team landed any one of those players as a Deadline signing, they’d be over the moon. We are potentially getting 5!!! (3 Allstars!!!)
There is also a possibility of Stone, and almost certainly River Ryan who could be a huge contributor, not forgetting Treinen who when at his best is a real weapon.
On a more cautionary note, I’m a little concerned about Alex Vesia. Maybe it’s just me, but he seems to be that he’s finding it harder and harder to find the Strike Zone and it seems that increasingly he doesn’t have a clean innings. More walks, more pitches and more stress and pressure. It seems to me that his success or luck can’t last forever.
I do think AF will trade for an experienced back up Catcher, if Will is not gonna make it back.
Good news Shohei and Yoshi not pitching in the ASG. Rest up.
CWS and SS Roch Cholowsky have agreed to a record $10.35MM signing bonus.