On his first Friday in May without an official baseball responsibility in some time, Chris Taylor still managed to carry a bat \u2013 a Wiffle ball bat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI took my 2-year-old to the park, and we played,\u201d Taylor said late last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taylor is a recently unemployed father of two young boys. A member of the University of Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame, he announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on May 24 after 12 seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s sons \u2013 2-year-old Theo and 6-month-old Koa \u2013 will one day be old enough to appreciate their father\u2019s accomplishments. At his peak, Taylor was an All-Star and a National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He helped the storied franchise capture World Series titles in 2020 and 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo, though, still got a thrill watching his dad play this season for the Utah-based AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, the Salt Lake Bees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got a Salt Lake Bees hat,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cSo, in his mind, the Bees were, like, the team. He\u2019d walk around and say, \u2018I play for the Bees,\u2019 and my wife would stream the games for him back in California. He loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor has long made a habit of creating lasting memories for whoever\u2019s watching him play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On June 13, 2011 \u2013 15 years ago this week \u2013 he whipped some 5,000 Cavalier fans at then-Davenport Field into a frenzy with his iconic two-out, two-run, walk-off single that propelled the Wahoos past the University of California, Irvine, and into the College World Series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A desire to spend more time with family drove Taylor to retire. Playing baseball at a high level comes with great sacrifice. The demands can be grueling.<\/p>\n
But the rewards, like etching your place in UVA lore with one swing of the bat, can be euphoric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look back at my career,\u201d Taylor said, \u201cI think of moments, like the highlights that made it all worth it. And that\u2019s definitely one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s signature hit in a Cavalier uniform caused a wild dogpile and, a few days later, a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, for a chance to compete for an NCAA championship. Taylor, however, remembers what happened before the chaos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The shortstop had made a defensive miscue in the previous half-inning that led to UC Irvine taking the lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI came in the dugout, and I threw my glove,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI remember (then-UVA head coach Brian O\u2019Connor) coming up to me and telling me, \u2018You need to stay locked in, we\u2019re going to need you.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then, sure enough, I came up in that situation and came through, luckily.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Transcript <\/p>\n
[Announcer speaking]<\/p>\n
The pitch \u2026 bouncing ball, it\u2019s up the middle, it leaks through! It\u2019s into center field \u2013 we\u2019re all tied!<\/p>\n
They\u2019re going to wave him around, he slides in! It\u2019s over! Virginia wins in the bottom of the ninth inning! A dog-pile \u2026 Wahoowa, we\u2019re going back to Omaha!<\/p>\n
[Crowd Cheers]<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s reputation as a clutch player only grew in the big leagues. He\u2019s one of 12 players in MLB history to hit three home runs in a single postseason game, a feat he accomplished in the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves on Oct. 21, 2021<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n