Hall of Fame
Jeff Taylor emerged as one of the cornerstones on the Red Raider baseball team from 1980 to 1983. An accomplished third baseman, Taylor became a dominant corner infielder with a keen batter’s eye - finishing his career in a tie with Herb Leslie for the school record in career walks with 117.
Taylor’s award-winning senior season in 1983 became one of the school’s most distinguished individual performances. As the team’s MVP, he batted .381 and he led the team in on-base percentage with a mark of .538. He slugged six homeruns while tying for the team-lead in RBIs with 33 and leading the team with 37 walks. He also had a .669 slugging percentage.
Additionally, Taylor led the team in runs scored with 35, hits with 45 and triples with four. He also was tied for second on the team with eight doubles and belted a team-high six game-winning RBIs. Taylor was fourth in stolen bases as well. Defensively, he was second on the team in assists with 81. For his efforts, he was named to the First Team All-PSAC squad and was an All-America Second Team selection.
During Taylor’s junior year in 1982, he hit .328 and was tied for the team lead in doubles with 11. He led the team in runs scored with 33 and in walks with 31. Taylor continued his strong fielding at third base and had 72 assists and a total of 27 putouts.
As a sophomore in 1981, Taylor led the team in walks with 45 and had a strong on-base percentage of .500. The team participated in the NCAA Regionals that season in Valdosta, Georgia. In just 16 games as a freshman, Taylor impressed with a .371 batting average and 13 RBI in 35 at-bats.
He finished his career with a batting average of .337, totaling 132 hits and scoring 107 runs along with 84 RBIs. Taylor also finished with 25 doubles, 12 triples and eight home runs. He ended his career with an on-base percentage of .484 and a career slugging percentage of .523.
Taylor’s career places him amongst the best to play third base at Shippensburg University. His ability to get on base along with his efficiency in the field remains a strong reflection of Shippensburg baseball. Overall, he is tied for first with the most hits in a game with six in 1982; tied for first with the most consecutive hits (7) in 1982; tied for first with most walks in a game (5 in 1983) and tied for second in most walks in a season (45 in 1981).
