Ron Taylor, a relief pitcher who helped the Mets win the 1969 World Series and went on to become the Blue Jays team physician for three decades, died Monday following a lengthy illness, the Mets announced.
He was 87 years old.
Taylor recorded a save in Game 2 of the 1969 World Series while pitching 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in that series against the Orioles five years after winning a title with the Cardinals, and the Mets, in a news release, described him as “one of the unsung heroes” of that championship run.
“Ron was the only guy on our staff with postseason experience,” Art Shamsky, one of Taylor’s former teammates and a member of the 1969 World Series roster, said in the release. “He had won a championship with the Cardinals in 1964 and brought a winning mentality. We don’t win the title without Ron Taylor.”
Taylor, who also earned a save and win in Games 1 and 2 of the 1969 NLCS, respectively, pitched for five teams across an 11-year career, landing with the Mets following stints with Cleveland, the Cardinals and the Astros.
He appeared in 59 games during the 1969 regular season, collecting a 2.72 ERA and recording 13 saves.
Following five seasons in Queens, Taylor ended his career with the Padres in 1972 — finishing with a 3.93 ERA across 491 career appearances.
Near the end of his career, Taylor was inspired by a trip to Vietnam on a USO tour that sparked his interest in medicine after meeting — and becoming friends with — doctors, he told former Post reporter Kevin Kernan in 2009, and it led to him pursuing a medical degree at the University of Toronto.
He then became the Blue Jays team physician for more than three decades starting in 1979, and Taylor was on staff for Toronto’s World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
“The Toronto Blue Jays are saddened to learn of the passing of long-time team doctor and former Major League Baseball player, Ron Taylor,” the Blue Jays said in a statement on X. “Known to many as Dr. Baseball, the Toronto native won four World Series Championships during his illustrious career, including two with the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. His impact on the game, in the community, and on our organization will be remembered forever. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.”
Taylor was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, and he returned to Mets games on multiple occasions over the past 16 years for ceremonies honoring the 1969 World Series-winning team.
“It’s given me a whole new life,” Taylor, in 2009, told Kernan of his medical career with the Blue Jays. “I feel very fortunate because every career I’ve had, from engineering into major league baseball into medicine, I’ve just loved what I was doing.”