Dodgers Taylor is an all star to kids
Dodgers All Star Chris Taylor ‘Driving for hope’ to help kids with cancer
by Paul Teetor
For the last decade, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was the undisputed team leader in one very important category: reaching out to the community and doing all he could to support good causes.
But Turner signed a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox last month, joining the ever-growing list of familiar Dodger names leaving town this off-season for more money elsewhere.
Now Chris Taylor, the Dodgers All-Star utility player, is moving to fill the community engagement void left by Turner. The newly married, Manhattan Beach resident is starting on this new phase of his off-the-field career with a charity golf tournament, called “Driving for Hope,” on Thursday, January 12 at Topgolf in El Segundo. The event will benefit Taylor’s CT3 Foundation, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, in support of children battling cancer.
Taylor’s passion for charity work was inspired by the death of one of his best friends, Kyle Profilet.
They grew up together in Virginia Beach, Virginia back in the ‘90s, and remained close after high school.
“During the 2017 World Series against Houston, Kyle was among a group of my closest childhood friends from Virginia Beach who flew out to watch me play. I didn’t know it yet, but Kyle had recently been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer in his right leg. He said he didn’t want to tell me about it while I was playing in the postseason. Kyle never wanted anyone’s sympathy,” Taylor recalled.
Taylor was devastated when Profilet died of bone cancer shortly after the World Series, at age 27.
But instead of just mourning his loss, Taylor wanted to do something about it, something to help other cancer victims, especially kids and young adults with cancer.
And as a Los Angeles Dodger, he realized he was in a position to make something good happen for young cancer patients.
“Kyle’s death drove me to create my foundation,” Taylor told the Easy Reader. “I had to do something to help.”
The goal of “Driving for Hope” was to raise $300,000.
“Most people have been impacted by cancer to one degree or another,” Taylor said. “My wife Mary recently lost a close friend to sarcoma.”
Mary has taken a leading role in guiding their CT3 Foundation. The charity’s first event was held at a Topgolf in Virginia Beach last November, and raised $120,000 for pediatric cancer charities.
The El Segundo event projects to be even bigger and better, with a taste of the glitz and glamor LA brings to the table. It will feature a red carpet for attendees to walk down as they arrive, a live auction, a lavish buffet and an open bar. Country music star Brett Young will perform. George Lopez, of the “The Lopez vs. Lopez” comedy show will host the evening
But the biggest attraction of all will be the opportunity to play golf with Taylor and some of his Dodger teammates. He said there will be several of them at the event, though he did not want to release their names until everyone is sure of their schedules.
“But there will be other Dodgers there,” Taylor said. “I am sure of that.”
Dodger Chris Taylor and wife Mary, who directs the couple’s CT3 Foundation. The foundation benefits children with cancer. Photo by Kevin Cody
Next season
While he knew there would be other players there, he couldn’t be sure that they would be Dodgers teammates. That’s because so many familiar names have left the team in the last six weeks. Who knows what trades the Dodgers management may be working on?
The biggest loss in terms of charity work and community engagement is Turner, the bushy, red-bearded third baseman whose distinctive batting style – his left leg lifts just before swinging – became a familiar sight to Dodgers fans over the last decade. He signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox after the Dodgers would only offer a one-year deal.
Also gone is shortstop Trea Turner, the 2021 National League batting champion who signed with the Texas Rangers for $300 million over 11 years. Again, the Dodgers simply refused to offer him that kind of lucrative long-term deal.
Cody Bellinger, the 2019 National League Most Valuable Player whose batting production fell off a cliff after a bizarre shoulder injury suffered while celebrating a home run in the 2020 playoffs, signed an $18 million, one year deal with the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers said they wanted him back, but not at that price.
Pitchers Andrew Heaney and Tommy Kahnle also left for greener pastures.
Taylor – who still has three years left on a four-year, $60 million contract he signed a year ago — admitted that all the departures were unsettling, especially that of Bellinger.
“I would have loved to see them all come back, but I understand that baseball is a business and they made the choice that is best for them and their families,” he said. “Belli leaving was really tough for me. He was one of my best friends on the team, so of course I wanted him to come back and play for the Dodgers. But I’m excited for him, a fresh start could be good for him. He signed a great deal, and I know he’s working his tail off this off-season.”
There has been one piece of good news for Taylor and for Dodgers fans over the last month: veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw signed a one-year deal to return to LA rather than sign with his hometown Texas Rangers, who were eager to bring him home. He’s been a role model for Taylor in that through his foundation he was almost as active as Turner was with community work.
“It’s awesome that Kersh is staying,” Taylor said. “I can’t picture him in anything but a Dodger uniform, so I’m super excited to see him back where he belongs.”
Ever since Seattle traded Taylor to the Dodgers in June, 2016, he has been known as a utility player with the skills to play all four infield positions and all three outfield positions. The only spots he hasn’t played for the Dodgers are pitcher and catcher – and who knows what might happen in the future.
Dodgers utility player Chris Taylor leads Manhattan Beach Little Leaguers in fielding drills. Photo by Jefferson Graham
Taylor, 32, said the label “utility player,” which used to mean a second-stringer not good enough to be a starter at any position, no longer has the same negative connotation.
“In today’s game that label shouldn’t bother anybody,” he said. “It has a different meaning now than it used to. I’m proud to play on the Dodgers, and if I’m on the field I’m happy.”
Still, he confessed that shortstop is his preferred position.
“It has the most action, but it’s also the most difficult position to play if you’re not playing there every day,” he said.
With Trea Turner gone, the Dodgers have a hole at shortstop that they have done nothing yet to fill.
Would Turner be interested in becoming the starting shortstop?
“We haven’t even gotten around to discussing that possibility,” he said.
Of course, he could also replace Bellinger in the outfield. That’s how versatile he is.
But for now he’s going to concentrate on making sure the “Driving for Hope” event raises plenty of money for the Children’s Hospital LA.
“This event isn’t about me or the other Dodgers who will be there to help us raise money,” he said. “It’s about the kids who will be helped as they fight their cancer. No one should have to face that alone.”
For more about Taylor’s CT3 Foundation, visit DrivingForHope.com
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com. Follow: @paulteetor.