Steady, unheralded Chris Taylor, just a solid utility guy surrounded by superstars, was Wednesday’s hero with a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Taylor was a defensive replacement. He didn’t start the game because he finished the season in a mammoth slump, 8-for-72, and he had batted only .157 since August 11th.
Taylor played six positions this year. The legendary super-utility man Gil McDougald once said, “I always knew I’d be in the line-up, but I never knew which glove I’d need.” Taylor is like that. He’s the team’s designated McDougald. (Taylor is actually more useful than Gil, because McDougald only played the infield.)
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Now it’ll be 107 wins against 106.
To be fair, Taylor did make the NL All-Star team this year (obviously he was hitting better at that part of the season than when the season ended).