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Brien Taylor Unmade: An oral history

M

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http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...e-fall-new-york-yankees-pitcher-brien-taylor\

Top pick could've made Core Four the Fab Five, if not for a night in North Carolina.

Taylor, a shy, 6-foot-3 kid from a double-wide trailer in coastal Beaufort, N.C., was the last high school pitcher selected No. 1 overall in baseball's draft. The New York Yankees -- yes, they held the first pick in June 1991 -- had visions of a left-handed Pedro Martinez or maybe a harder-throwing Randy Johnson.

Taylor never ended up joining his one-time spring training roommate Derek Jeter on the Yankees' dynasty teams. Still, some believe he was the greatest pitching prospect in the history of the draft.
 
I remember hoping to score his rookie card in a pack. That was a seriously valuable card back then, at least to a little kid.
 
06deacon said:
I remember hoping to score his rookie card in a pack. That was a seriously valuable card back then, at least to a little kid.
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Yeah, I remember vividly buying a bunch of packs one day with my friends and we ended up with 5 or 6 of them. We consulted the BECKETT BOOK and they were worth like 3 bucks which was a lot for a card from that year. Probably shouldn't have planned my retirement around the guaranteed appreciation of those cards.
 
He was a few years older than me but I remember hearing a ton about him when I was a kid growing up in central/eastern NC. He was legit. A shame it all was wasted
 
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bmoneydeac said:
Yeah, I remember vividly buying a bunch of packs one day with my friends and we ended up with 5 or 6 of them. We consulted the BECKETT BOOK and they were worth like 3 bucks which was a lot for a card from that year. Probably shouldn't have planned my retirement around the guaranteed appreciation of those cards.
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Haha I just KNOW my Hideo Nomo RCs are gonna rebound.
 
A very sad story - hope some of his bonus $ was spent well. IIRC, the guy that threw that punch was a fairly close friend, in a heated situation. He does have a lane named after him in his small community, North River. I pass it every several weeks and think how much good could have been - that area could have used any help.
 
Per Wikipedia the injury happened when he went to the trailer of his brothers assailant and tried to land a haymaker. When he missed he tore up his arm. Sad how things can change in the blink of an eye
 
bmoneydeac said:
Yeah, I remember vividly buying a bunch of packs one day with my friends and we ended up with 5 or 6 of them. We consulted the BECKETT BOOK and they were worth like 3 bucks which was a lot for a card from that year. Probably shouldn't have planned my retirement around the guaranteed appreciation of those cards.
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The internet just MURDERED the card market. My Flair Showcase KOBE rookie that was worth $20 in 1997 was going to pay for my house right now.
 
bmoneydeac said:
Yeah, I remember vividly buying a bunch of packs one day with my friends and we ended up with 5 or 6 of them. We consulted the BECKETT BOOK and they were worth like 3 bucks which was a lot for a card from that year. Probably shouldn't have planned my retirement around the guaranteed appreciation of those cards.
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Wait, so baseball cards aren't a good investment? I do remember the Brien Taylor rookie card.
 
brien.jpg
 
I barely remember Van Poppel in the majors. Ben Macdonald was halfway decent for a while.

Didn't know Taylor was in jail until this article.
 
BiffTannen said:
You realize that both of those guys pitched in the major leagues for several seasons and Brien Taylor didn't get past AA ball and is now in prison, right?
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The common thread is "early 90's rookie cards that were huge for about three minutes." You're right though, the incarceration/no MLB career thing is unique to Taylor.
 
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