- Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1968 Topps #421.
- Player Name, position, team: Ron Taylor, pitcher, New York Mets.
- Major League Debut: April 11, 1962.
- Last Line of Statistics: 1967 stats (Mets): 4-6, .400 PCT, 46 SO, 23 BB, 2.34 ERA
- Any special information about player: Signed with the Indians as a Free Agent before the 1956 season. Contract purchased by the Mets from the Astros 02/10/1967. Bats: right. Throws: right.
- Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his seventh Topps card.
- Blurb on the back: "Ron was the Mets' top relief pitcher last season as he posted a fine 2.34 ERA and was credit with fie saves in addition to 4 wins. The righty reliever has tremendous control and uses his sinkerball effectively."
- Commentary: As Topps used a vertically oriented reverse for their 1968 player cards, there was room to list all of the places that Ronald Wesley Taylor spent time with as a professional player, both in the minors and the majors. He joined the Mets just as they were about to shock the world. With a pitching staff that included future superstars like Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Jerry Koosman, a guy like Taylor could have gotten lost in the proverbial shuffle. It is a good thing he was a very good pitcher in his own right. Sharing the closer role for the 1968 Mets, Taylor would earn a record of 1-5, an ERA of 2.0, finish 44 games, saving 13 of them. He struck out 49 batters and finished with a WHIP of 1.070. In the 1969 World Series, he finished two games, saving one and allowed no runs in 2.1 innings of work. Ron Taylor would play for the Mets until the end of the 1971 season. His contract was purchased by the Expos, allowing the native of Ontario to play for his home country. But he never suited up for Montréal, and signed with the Padres soon after he was released. But after four games (the final one, ironically was against the Expos), he was released by San Diego, ending his major league playing career. With his playing days over, Ron entered medical school and eventually returned to baseball. This time Dr. Ron Taylor signed on with the Blue Jays to be their team physician. On the back of his 1968 Topps card, there is a cartoon of a hitter swatting a ball with the number "19" on it. The trivia question: Who holds the Mets' Rookie Home Run record? The answer? Ron Swoboda - 19 in 1965."
- Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.
- How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.
In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM.
Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2011 Topps #328. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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