Brien McKeiver Taylor (born December 26, 1971) is an American former pitcher in minor league baseball.
Born in Beaufort, North Carolina, Taylor attended East Carteret High School, where his pitching ability caused him to be chosen by the New York Yankees with the first overall selection in the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft.
Taylor was born in Beaufort, North Carolina, on December 26, 1971, to parents Willie Ray, who worked as a mason, and Bettie, who was a crab picker at the local seafood facility.
"[3] The Yankees offered Taylor $300,000 to sign a minor league contract, the typical amount given to the first overall draft choice at that time.
[1] However, Boras advised the Taylor family that the previous year's top-rated high school pitcher, Todd Van Poppel, was given more than $1.2 million to sign with the Oakland Athletics, and turned down a scholarship to the University of Texas in the process.
The Taylors held out for a three-year $1.2 million contract, even though they had less leverage because Brien's poor grades in high school prevented him from getting a major college scholarship offer.
[4][5] The Yankees originally planned to bring Taylor up through the minor leagues rapidly, as the Mets did with Dwight Gooden.
[7] That year, Taylor had a 13–7 record, a 3.48 ERA, and 150 strikeouts in 163 innings, and also led the Eastern League with 102 walks issued.
[2] In 1994, he was expected to pitch for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers of the International League, and start for the Yankees to begin the 1995 season at the latest, dependent on how well he would have performed in spring training.
[2] After the season ended, the Yankees wanted Taylor to take part in an instructional league to work on his fundamentals.
The New York Times reported that Brenden confronted a man named Ron Wilson, who he had fought with in Harlowe, North Carolina.
[3] The following week, Jobe performed surgery to repair tears in the capsule and glenoid labrum of Taylor's shoulder, which caused him to miss the entire 1994 season.