Taylor reached career highs of 109 games, 13 home runs, and a .269 average for the
1959 Cubs. That June 30, he was involved in a bizarre situation when two balls were
put into play at one time. With a 3-1 count on
Stan Musial, umpire Vic Delmore called
ball four, but Taylor argued that the pitch had been fouled. He stood at the plate,
arguing, as the ball rolled to the backstop. Musial took off for second as the dispute
continued, and third baseman
Alvin Dark ran to retrieve the ball, which had been
tossed by the bat boy to field announcer Pat Peiper, who let it drop so that Dark
could field it. Meanwhile, umpire Delmore had routinely handed a new ball to Taylor.
Pitcher
Bob Anderson threw the ball to second at the same time that Dark's throw
of the first ball reached shortstop
Ernie Banks. As Anderson's high throw went into
the outfield, Musial thought he would continue to third, but Banks tagged him out
with the initial ball. The umpires erroneously ruled Musial out despite the bat boy's
having touched the ball.
(RTM)