ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 TAG: 9704220079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN THE ROANOKE TIMES
Jamie Taylor may not be a hot prospect anymore, but the 27-year-old husband and parent knows how to play the game.
During the 1996 baseball season, Jamie Taylor took care of his newborn daughter, Abby, when he wasn't taking groundballs as a third baseman for the New Haven Ravens.
This season, Taylor's wife, Kristin, is staying at their home in East Springfield, Ohio, taking care of Abby and finishing her college degree. But that doesn't mean Taylor has given up his fatherly ways.
Although he only will get to see his family once or twice a month before the summer, Taylor has adopted a new group of youngsters: the Salem Avalanche.
At 27, Taylor is the oldest Avalanche player. He played four years of college baseball at Ohio State and has played five years in the minor leagues. His hair is thinning, although with his close-cropped style, he must not mind. The truest evidence of his parental instincts is the minivan he uses to take his housemates, Elvis Pena, Lariel Gonzalez and Luis Colmenares, to and from the ballpark each day.
``If the young kids would watch him, they would see he still plays the game hard,'' said Bill ``Moose'' McGuire, Salem's manager.
Taylor does this despite the fact he no longer carries the ``prospect'' label. Taylor was released by the Cleveland Indians in 1994 after reaching the Class AA level. The next season he was signed by Duluth of the independent Northern League, which Mike Veeck and Darryl Strawberry have made famous.
Taylor signed with the Rockies' organization on Dec.6, 1995, and spent the 1996 season with Class AA New Haven, where he paid $765 a month (plus utilities) for a one-bedroom apartment for himself, Kristin and Abby. The cost was worth it. Whenever he had a bad game, Taylor said, he would look up into the Yale Field stands, see their faces and think only good thoughts.
``It's hard being away from them,'' Taylor said.
It wasn't hard for Taylor to come back to baseball this season, however, even though he was assigned to Class A Salem. The Rockies wanted Tal Light, their top third-base prospect, at Class AA, but they wanted to keep Taylor in a black-and-purple uniform.
``He plays a heck of a third base,'' McGuire said. ``He has some organizational value. You hate to say it, but he's kind of like an insurance policy.''
Taylor is batting .283 with seven runs batted in and one of the team's two home runs. Being further down the ladder in the Rockies' eyes hasn't gotten him down. And he never, ever, thought of retiring.
``They wanted to keep me around, and the only place they had open was here,'' said Taylor, who just wanted to be assured he would play. ``I'm just happy to have a uniform on and to be playing.''
Taylor has been a designated hitter or corner infielder in all but two of the Avalanche's games. But even then he didn't stay off the field. Coach Stu Cole sent him out to coach first base for one inning April 8 and Taylor got eight innings of coaching experience April 15 after McGuire was ejected for arguing a call.
``You want a guy out there who's not going to kill you,'' McGuire said. ``You know he's not going to be looking into the stands. He's into the game.''
Taylor said he wants to remain into the game for the next three or four years, perhaps getting a break sometime and finding himself on one of the corners at Coors Field. For now, his jobs as a player, father and father figure are enjoyable enough.
``I hope I can help this team and get things turned around here,'' Taylor said. ``Now we're starting to come around. There'll be a lot of growing up during the first half.''
And Taylor will be there raising the kids and raising his stock at the same time.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Taylor. color.by CNB