William Michael Taylor was a Major League Baseball player who played outfield for the New York Giants and Detroit Tigers. The Giants originally acquired the rights to Taylor from the minor leagueOakland Oaks in a transaction during the 1950 season. Taylor was signed by the Giants on January 1, 1953. He spent most of the 1953 season with the Giants' AA-level minor league affiliate, the Nashville Volunteers. After posting a.350 batting average with 22 home runs in 107 games for Nashville, he was promoted to the Giants AAA affiliate, the Minneapolis Millers. He played 47 games for the Millers, batting.223 with 7 home runs. Taylor made his Major League debut for the Giants on April 14, 1954, pinch hitting for Mario Picone and striking out against Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher Don Newcombe. For the season, he played in 55 games for the Giants, getting 12 hits in 65 at bats for a.185 batting average. He also hit 2 home runs, had 10 runs batted in and scored 4 runs as the Giants won the National League pennant and the 1954 World Series. He played nine games in the field without an error, seven in left field as Hall of Famer Monte Irvin's backup, and two in right field backing upDon Mueller. Although the Giants won the World Series in four games that season, Taylor did not see any playing time in the World Series. Taylor again spent the entire season with the Giants in 1955. He played in 65 games and had 17 hits in 64 at-bats for a.266 batting average, while hitting four home runs and a.516 slugging percentage. He played just 2 games in the field, both in right field. In 1956, he played most of the season back in the minors with the Millers, but did play in one game for the Giants, getting a double in four at-bats. In 1957 he again played most of the season with the Millers, but did play in 11 games for the Giants without a hit. Towards the end of the season, on September 14, he was sold to the Detroit Tigers, and played in nine games for the Tigers. 1957 was Taylor's final season in the Major Leagues, and he played eight games for the Tigers, getting 3 hits in 8 at-bats for a.375 batting average. He spent most of the 1958 season with the Tigers AAA affiliate, the Charleston Senators. He started the 1959 season with the Senators, but moved to the Buffalo Bisons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization during the season. He also played for the Bisons in 1960 and 1961. In his Major League career, Taylor played 149 games over five seasons and had 41 hits in 173 at-bats for a.237 batting average. He hit 7 home runs, and 26 runs batted in and 17 runs scored, a.264 on-base percentage and a.405 slugging percentage. Of his 149 Major League games, he only played in the field in 18, all in the outfield. As a fielder, he made 13 putouts with no assists and no errors, for a career fielding percentage of 1.000. He also played in 1261 minor league games between 1947 and 1961, with a.311 batting average and 186 home runs. Taylor also played for the Navegantes del Magallanes and Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League. He set two records while playing with Magallanes in the 1953–1954 season, when he became the first player in the league's history to hit three home runs in a single game, and for setting a new season mark with 16 home runs. Taylor died on September 15, 2011 in Antelope Valley, California.
