Chris Taylor’s best moments with the Dodgers

Remembering the multi-position linchpin, for whom barrels were overrated, and remembering some of his best moments in his 10 seasons in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers on Sunday cut ties with Chris Taylor, capping a week in which they jettisoned the two longest-tenured position players on the team.

Taylor was a 25-year-old in Triple-A when the Mariners traded him to the Dodgers for former first-round draft pick Zach Lee in June 2016. In parts of three seasons in the majors with Seattle, Taylor hit just .240/.296/.296 in 256 plate appearances.

Expectations in Los Angeles were modest, and I wrote at the time of the trade, “The Dodgers were thin at position player depth, especially in the infield, on the 40-man roster, and this move helps to address that.”

Taylor provided much more than depth.

His ability to play the infield and outfield, much like longtime teammate Kiké Hernández, was a great strength of the Dodgers’ rise to prominence over the last decade. Taylor, Hernández, and 1920s Brooklyn utility man Jimmy Johnston are the only three Dodgers in franchise history to play at least 50 games at each of second base, thrid base, shortstop, left field, and center field.

From Baseball ReferenceThese are Chris Taylor’s annual positions played, from 2014-25.

Taylor led the Dodgers in defensive innings at a single position only three times in his eight full seasons — at left field in 2017 and 2022, at shortstop in 2018 — but was a regular through 2023, and started games at six different positions throughout his Dodgers tenure.

“I feel like my role has always been to play all over the field, and that’s part of my value,” Taylor said in 2021. “There’s been times where guys have gotten hurt, and then I have to play one position for a month or whatever.”

Taylor made the All-Star Game in 2021, the same year his teammates and coaches voted Taylor the Roy Campanella Award winner, exemplifying the spirit and leadership of the Hall of Fame catcher.

In the postseason, Taylor hit .247/.351/.441 with a 116 wRC+ and ranks second in Dodgers history in postseason games played (80) and runs scored (39). He’s also in the top five in franchise postseason history in hits (56), extra-base hits (24), doubles (13), and total bases (100).

Along the way, Taylor was part of some huge moments for a Dodgers team that won four pennants and two championships. Here are a few memories of Taylor’s Dodgers tenure.

The NLCS catch in Milwaukee

Up a run in the fifth inning of Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS in Milwaukee, the Brewers had the tying run on second base that that season’s NL MVP Christian Yelich at the plate. Yelich drove a ball to the gap that Taylor snagged with a sliding grab on the warning track.

Barrels are overrated

This isn’t a single moment, but something that turned into one of several running Dodgers celebrations over the years, stemming from Taylor getting four hits against the White Sox in a 2017 despite not hitting the ball hard. The simple shaking of the hands gesture became a Taylor trademark after hits through the years.

Forgot I had this, but in case anybody didn’t know, here’s the barrels are overrated origin story.

2017 NLCS co-MVP

Playing the Cubs for a second straight NLCS, Taylor hit go-ahead home runs in Games 1 and 3, and also added an RBI triple in the latter. Taylor also had two hits, including a double, and scored twice in the Game 5 clincher.

For the series, Taylor hit .316/.458/.789 with two home runs, a triple, a double, five walks, and five runs scored. He shared NLCS MVP honors with Justin Turner, who hit a walk-off home run to win Game 2.

2017 World Series Game 1

The Dodgers hadn’t played in a World Series in 29 years when they took the field in Game 1 in 2017, on one of the hottest days in Dodger Stadium history. Taylor was hot at the plate, taking Dallas Keuchel’s first pitch of the game into the left field pavilion.

2021 NL wild card game

The Dodgers won 106 games this season — Taylor’s All-Star year — but finished second in the division to San Francisco. That meant they had to open the postseason with a wild card game at home, which was tied at 1-1 in the ninth inning against the Cardinals. Up stepped Taylor.

Three home runs in Game 5 of the 2021 NLCS

 The last two were Dodgers, including Taylor with LA’s backs against the wall down 3-1 to Atlanta in 2021.

Albert Pujols, who had one of those three-homer games himself during the 2011 World Series for the Cardinals, was Taylor’s teammate with the Dodgers in 2021.

“It’s something that he’s going to tell his kids. The highlights are going to be there the rest of his life, and that’s something that you’re going to share forever,” Pujols said that night. “A moment like this doesn’t happen every day. I mean, it’s hard to hit one home run in a game, imagine three, especially in the postseason. This is not easy. That’s why there are not that many guys that have done it.”

Today’s question is what was your favorite Chris Taylor moment with the Dodgers?

I’m sure I missed a few, so please share yours in the comments. Here are a few more, in the Dodgers’ tribute video of Taylor on Sunday.