Taylor grew up in a military family that moved often in his early years. His first memorable baseball experiences came in Wiesbaden Germany. Along with playing 4 years of Little League in Wiesbaden, summers were spent playing pick-up baseball with friends in the big fields behind the base housing area. As a 12-year-old Taylor played 3b for the Wiesbaden LL All Star team that were the Champions of Germany in 1972. Wiesbaden was the runner up to Torrejon Spain for the European Championship and a trip to Williamsport, PA. home of the Little League World Series. The 4-3 and 6-5 losses to Torrejon were two of the most memorable losses in Taylor’s baseball career.
Taylor played 3 years of baseball at Nevada Union High School. He was the starting second basemen and leadoff hitter for Fred Metz’ 1977 Miners that finished 2nd in the SFL to a talented Oakmont team. At 18, following his freshman year of college he played shortstop for Nevada City’s Big-League team and was the starting shortstop for the District 54 All Star team.
After playing fall ball at Sacramento State in 1979 coach John Smith suggested Taylor talk to Coach Dennis DeRoss at College of the Siskiyous. Although Smith had converted Taylor to an outfielder, Coach DeRoss needed a shortstop, so Taylor filled the position. He earned Golden Valley All Conference honors hitting .343 and starting all 33 games and the All Conference All Star game.
Taylor retired from competitive baseball in 1980 but stayed active playing a variety of sports including basketball, softball, road running, golf and cycling. In 1982 he completed the San Francisco Marathon and from 1986 -1992 Taylor completed the Davis Double 3 times and the Markleeville Death Ride 4 times.
Taylor started coaching in 1992 when his oldest son Anthony started playing baseball. Taylor coached baseball and basketball from 1992-2009 including taking the 2006 Babe Ruth Junior Little League All Star team to the Regional Finals in Beaverton Oregon where they beat Mission Viejo 2-1 to win the California State Championship before losing to Arizona 4-3 in the semifinals. From 2000 to 2009 Taylor coached AAU basketball for the Nevada City Blazers, Pacific Pistols and YBA Dawgs. He also coached the 2006 8th grade Magnolia Rattlers to a 29-0 record and the Nor Cal State Championship.
In the summer of 2008 shortly after meeting Auburn Brave’s Manager Mike Baker and talking with longtime family friend Dave Kephart, Taylor joined our SMSBL. At 48 years young, he played CF for the Auburn Braves. His first trip to the Arizona MSBL World Series was in October of 2008 and he hasn’t missed one since. Taylor played on many teams over the last 15 years, often playing for 2 or 3 teams in the same season. In addition to the Auburn Braves, he played for the Gold Country Buzzards, Dave Kephart’s Auburn Pirates and Bud Sanchez’s Nor Cal Giants. He currently plays for Rick Salmeri’s Colt .45s.
Taylor also is a member of the Sacramento Royals who have been a dominant team at the Regional and National level for many years. The Royals have been managed by Gary Stonebrook, Jim Tygrett-DeNuzzi, and now Bobby Brown. They have won numerous regional tournaments as well as several World Series titles. The Royals are by far the winningest and most talented team Taylor has played with in his SMSBL career.
Taylor played for seven World Series Champions including the 2010 Sacramento Mud Dogs, the 2013 Nor Cal Giants, the 2015 and 2016 Sacramento Royals, the 2015 and 2016 Auburn Braves and the 2017 Sacramento Tribe. In 2013 Taylor was the winning pitcher in relief in both the semifinal and championship games. Taylor was honored with the 2017 World Series MVP award from the Tribe’s Manager Joe Soto. Taylor is fortunate to have had the opportunity to play with some of the best players and managers in the SMSBL. He appreciates the efforts of President Alan Van Ness and all the Board Members past and present. Taylor feels Sacramento MSBL is truly one of the best, if not the best in the country.
