Chris Taylor

Christopher Armand Taylor Jr. (born August 29, 1990), nicknamed "CT3", is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Los Angeles Angels.

Taylor played college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers. Taylor was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2014. Traded to the Dodgers, Taylor won the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award in 2017, was a member of the World Series champions in 2020 and 2024, and was an All-Star in 2021. During his major league career, he played every position except for catcher, first baseman and pitcher.

Early life

Amateur career Taylor attended Great Neck Middle School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he was on the wrestling team and won a city wrestling championship. When he attended Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach, he stopped wrestling to focus on baseball. He was named the All-Tidewater region Player of the Year in 2009.

Taylor was recruited to play college baseball by the University of Virginia and the College of William & Mary. He chose to attend Virginia and played for the Cavaliers baseball team, competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In his freshman year, Taylor played sparingly as Tyler Cannon, an All-ACC shortstop, received most of the playing time. In the summer of 2010, Taylor played collegiate summer baseball for the Newport Gulls of the NECBL.

In his sophomore year, Stephen Bruno was named the Cavaliers' starting shortstop at the beginning of the season, and Taylor began the year as the team's right fielder. Taylor became the starting shortstop when Bruno suffered a hamstring injury and retained the job after Bruno recovered.

Professional career Seattle Mariners Minor leagues The Seattle Mariners selected Taylor in the fifth round, with the 161st overall selection of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. In 2013, Taylor played for the High Desert Mavericks of the High-A California League and Jackson Generals of the Double-A Southern League, finishing the season with a combined .314 batting average, 165 hits (eighth-best in Minor League Baseball), eight home runs, 60 runs batted in (RBI), 108 runs scored, and 38 stolen bases while playing shortstop and second base. After the season, the Mariners assigned Taylor to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League, and named him their minor league player of the year. He hit .294 with Peoria, and had a .351 on-base percentage, while playing second base and shortstop.

Major leagues The Mariners invited Taylor to spring training in 2014. Following spring training, he was assigned to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL). He appeared in the Triple-A All-Star Game, and was named the PCL's Top Star. After batting .328 with five home runs, 37 RBI, and 63 runs scored in 75 games while playing shortstop and second base, the Mariners promoted Taylor to the major leagues on July 24 to replace the injured Willie Bloomquist. He collected his first major-league hit, a single, that night against the Baltimore Orioles' Wei-Yin Chen. In 47 games, he hit .287. After he recovered from his injury, he began the 2015 season with Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit .300 in 86 games. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto would later regret making the trade, calling it "clearly the worst deal I've ever made."

On July 15, 2016, Taylor hit his first major league career home run, a grand slam, off Silvino Bracho of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also had a double, a triple, drove in six runs, and fell just short of hitting for the cycle. He was the third Dodgers player in history to have his first career homer be a grand slam (Preston Ward in 1948 and Chico Fernández in 1956) and the third Dodgers second baseman to have at least six RBIs in a game (Billy Herman in 1943 and Jackie Robinson in 1949). He played in 34 games for the Dodgers in 2016, hitting .207 with one home run and seven RBIs, primarily playing shortstop.

Taylor did not make the club out of spring training in 2017 and was assigned to Oklahoma City to begin the season, for whom he batted .233 with one home run and five RBIs in 43 at bats. He was recalled to the Dodgers on April 19. On July 6, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Taylor hit his first career walk-off hit, driving in Logan Forsythe to win the game 5-4. In the 2017 regular season, he batted .288 with 21 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 142 strikeouts in 514 at bats, playing center field, left field, second base, shortstop, and third base. On October 24, Taylor hit a home run on the first pitch by Astros' pitcher Dallas Keuchel to begin Game 1 of the World Series. Overall, in the 2017 postseason, Taylor hit .254 with three home runs and seven RBI in 15 games as the Dodgers lost the World Series in seven games. With teammate Corey Seager missing most of the season due to injury, Taylor spent the majority of the season at shortstop (81 games, 73 starts). He also played center field (50 games, 32 starts), left field (24 games, 18 starts), second base (12 games, 5 starts), and third base (8 games, 3 starts). In the postseason, Taylor had only one hit in four at-bats in the NLDS, but his hit was a home run. In the NLCS, he had eight hits in 22 at-bats, and in the World Series, he had two hits in 18 at-bats. Taylor hit .262/.333/.462 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs, and 115 strikeouts in 366 at bats. He only recorded one hit in 11 at-bats in the NLDS. The season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Taylor was the Dodgers primary second baseman, appearing in 56 of the Dodgers' 60 games, and batting .270/.366/.476 with eight homers and 32 RBIs.

Taylor was selected to represent the Dodgers at the 2021 All-Star Game, his first All-Star appearance. During the regular season, he batted .254/.344/.438 with 20 home runs, 73 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 148 games. On October 21, Taylor hit three home runs in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit three home runs in an elimination game. On December 1, Taylor re-signed with the Dodgers with a four-year contract worth $60 million, which also included a team option for a fifth year.

In 2022, Taylor played in 118 games for the Dodgers (with the majority of them being in the outfield), and batted .221 with 10 homers and 43 RBIs though he was hitless in seven at-bats during the NLDS. He played in 117 games, batting .237 with 15 homers and 56 RBI. He was sidelined until August 22. He only played in 87 games in 2024, the lowest total in a 162-game season since 2016, recording three hits, two walks and one stolen base in 11 plate appearances. Taylor was used primarily as a late-game defensive replacement and pinch runner in the World Series, scoring a run in Game 1 and later hitting a single in his only at-bat as he won his second championship with Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Angels On May 26, 2025, Taylor signed a major league contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He suffered a broken left hand after being hit by a Tyler Ferguson pitch in a game against the Athletics on June 9. With the Angels, Taylor played in 30 games, batting .179 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Between the Dodgers and the Angels, Taylor played in 58 games in 2025, batting .186 with two home runs and 12 RBI. He was released on March 21, when he failed to win a roster spot during spring training. On March 27, Taylor re-signed with the Angels organization on a new minor league contract. Taylor began the regular season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. On May 22, he announced his retirement from professional baseball. However, the next day, Taylor reversed the original announcement and returned to the Bees; he was subsequently placed on the injured list with a left forearm fracture. On May 24, he once again announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Personal life Taylor's father, Chris Sr., and grandfather, Armand, attended Virginia Tech, where they competed on the wrestling team.

Taylor married his wife in December 2022 in Waialua, Hawaii. Their first child was born in 2023.