Longtime pitching coach Taylor dies

Charley Taylor, who served as the Lexington Legends pitching coach for eight seasons, passed away Saturday night after a long battle with cancer.
Taylor, a resident of northern Kentucky, served as a coach in professional baseball for 31 years. He was the Legends pitching coach from 2001-08. He also held the title in 2009 but did not work with the team that year due to his illness. He returned to baseball the following season and worked with Astros' Minor Leaguers in the Gulf Coast League for two more years before retiring.
As a player, Taylor pitched at Eastern Kentucky University before being selected by the Astros in the 24th round of the 1969 amateur draft. He reached the Triple-A level with Denver in 1974.
After retiring as a player following the 1975 season, Taylor worked in the front office for the Cincinnati Reds for five years and occasionally served as a batting practice pitcher for the team before beginning his long coaching career in the Houston organization. He was elected to the Legends Hall of Fame in 2005.
"Charley Taylor was well-known to everyone associated with the Legends for his long tenure as pitching coach," Legends President/CEO Andy Shea said. "And those who got to know him, including the players he worked with, Legends fans and Legends employees, will remember him as a gentleman who always had a kind word for everyone. It was a pleasure to be around Charley. He will be greatly missed."