Brien Taylor, the Former Yankee Prospect, Faces Up to 40 Years in Jail

All, Baseball, Blithering Idiots, Legal, Sad. Tim Ryan November 1st. 2012, 11:12am

Brien Taylor, the can’t-miss prospect for the Yankees back in the early 90s, has been infamous in baseball circles for throwing away a highly promising pitching career after getting into a fight and causing serious injuries to his pitching arm.

Nineteen years later, Taylor’s life appears to be following suit. The troubled 40-year-old, who has been in jail since March after being arrested for selling drugs to undercover agents, faces anywhere from five to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to distributing more than 28 grams of crack cocaine.

What a sad decline. It’s amazing to think how much one punch — a punch that failed to land — assisted in derailing this guy’s once promising life into the seventh circle of hell.

Taylor’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 7.

[via ESPN, photos via here, here]

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68 Responses to “Brien Taylor, the Former Yankee Prospect, Faces Up to 40 Years in Jail”

1
Al Czervik Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Guess I can throw away those rookie cards. No fortune to be made there.
2
Dr. Tom Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:18 AM
Guess I can throw away those rookie cards.
I actually looked thru my baseball cards a few weeks back. Still waiting for Todd Van Poppel to make the leap.
3
VladimirCrouton Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:20 AM
5 to 40? End the drug war.
4
KC Resident Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:20 AM
aces anywhere from five to 40 years in prison
That is stupid.
5
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:21 AM
pssh…that aint brien taylor. next thing you’re going to tell me is that troy o’leary was black.
6
roastbeast Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:23 AM
Guess I can throw away those rookie cards. No fortune to be made there.
i envision a market for athlete-turned inmate prison cards. pics are already taken.
/don’t steal that idea
7
VladimirCrouton Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:23 AM
Matt Stafford was handing out full size candy bars last night. I hope he doesn’t end up eating the boxes of leftovers like he did his rookie year.
8
arkbadger Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Baseball, Blithering Idiots, Legal, Sad
two of my all-time favorites, well done senor Ryan.
9
Watsonian Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:24 AM
next thing you’re going to tell me is that troy o’leary was black.
I just figured out 2 or 3 weeks ago that Colin Kaepernick was black. I was shocked.
10
Al Czervik Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:25 AM
Still waiting for Todd Van Poppel to make the leap.
Or Gregg Jefferies
11
roastbeast Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:25 AM
the shortest book in the world is Black Athletes Named Colin
12
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:26 AM
I just figured out 2 or 3 weeks ago that Colin Kaepernick was black. I was shocked.
I think he was raised by white people though so you weren’t that far off.
13
Der Kaiser Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Jesus, 40 years for a drugs offense? That’s way too harsh.
14
Watsonian Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:28 AM
I think he was raised by white people though so you weren’t that far off.
They adopted a black kid who ended up in the NFL? Sounds like a movie script!
15
Der Kaiser Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:28 AM
They adopted a black kid who ended up in the NFL? Sounds like a movie script!
White people truly knows how to invest.
16
Smallie Bigs Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:29 AM
the shortest book in the world is Black Athletes Named Colin
And I spent all this time thinking it was “Italian War victories”
17
Smallie Bigs Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:30 AM
I think he was raised by white people though so you weren’t that far off.
I keep telling my wife if we can’t get pregnant and end up adopting we’re going for the future NFL/NBA player. She doesn’t find it as amusing as I do.
18
Nada Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:30 AM
just figured out 2 or 3 weeks ago that Colin Kaepernick was black
Now you can compare him to Vince Young!
19
Der Kaiser Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:30 AM
And I spent all this time thinking it was “Italian War victories”
Such a shitty group of fighters.
20
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Jesus, 40 years for a drugs offense? That’s way too harsh.
UP TO forty years…and that’s outrageous because he only had 28 grams. even if he had the max, he’d only face a MAXIMUM of 219 months, i.e. lil over 18 years.
gotta get them readers, ya hurd?
21
Nada Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:32 AM
40 years for a drugs offense? That’s way too harsh
Legalize it, tax it … wipe out the national debt and end prison overcrowding at the same time.
22
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:32 AM
i wonder if we legalized cocaine, if there’d be any reason to make crack anymore…
23
sousedbergin Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:32 AM
40 years in prison
68 billion a year.
24
roastbeast Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:32 AM
you guys don’t consider romans italians?
i never knew he existed, until he didn’t
/a ceasar line from Rome
25
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:32 AM
And I spent all this time thinking it was “Italian War victories”
Such a shitty group of fighters.
Did Italians become the new French and I missed it?
26
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:33 AM
And I spent all this time thinking it was “Italian War victories”
Such a shitty group of fighters.
i mean, there was this thing called THE ROMAN EMPIRE taht had a decent military, if im remembering my history correctly.
27
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:33 AM
68 billion a year.
How much is that in Loonies though?
28
VladimirCrouton Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:33 AM
i wonder if we legalized cocaine, if there’d be any reason to make crack anymore…
CIA has gotta make that money and kill off the urban communities yo.
29
vajayjay redick Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:34 AM
I thought Kirby Puckett was dead.
30
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:34 AM
I thought Kirby Puckett was dead.
bravo.
31
sousedbergin Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:34 AM
How much is that in Loonies though?
67.9999 billion
32
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:35 AM
i mean, there was this thing called THE ROMAN EMPIRE taht had a decent military, if im remembering my history correctly.
If you want to go more recent, the Italians did some pretty hardcore fighting in World War I that few people even remember: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_the_Isonzo
But uh, don’t look at Italian efforts at conquering East Africa in the 1890s….that wouldn’t bolster your case so much.
33
RexKramerDangerSeeker Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:35 AM
It’s old fart baseball day here at TBL, and it’s awesome. Looking back, the hype around this kid was probably along the lines of Bryce Harper and one of my earliest recollections of a patented Scott Boras hold out.
34
HtownHacker Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:36 AM
Even before big money started kicking in,he did sign a 1.5 million dollar contract right out of high school. Some people don’t make that much money in their entire lives.
35
Smallie Bigs Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:36 AM
Did Italians become the new French and I missed it?
It’s possible. I failed history.
36
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:36 AM
Even before big money started kicking in,he did sign a 1.5 million dollar contract right out of high school. Some people don’t make that much money in their entire lives.
According to a report I read at a conference I just went to, most of us won’t make that much in our entire lives.
37
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:36 AM
But uh, don’t look at Italian efforts at conquering East Africa in the 1890s….that wouldn’t bolster your case so much.
/thinks about making argument with wild hand gestures and loud noises
//thinks better of it
///sips caffe
38
kazzythekid Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:37 AM
You’re a bad/stupid dealer if you sell a zip of crack to an undercover Fed.
39
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:37 AM
also, had no idea about isonzo…domo.
40
Smallie Bigs Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:37 AM
don’t look at Italian efforts at conquering East Africa in the 1890s….that wouldn’t bolster your case so much.
That;s where I missed on the book title. it’s supposed to be “Italian war victories in Africa”
41
Watsonian Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:38 AM
/thinks about making argument with wild hand gestures and loud noises
//thinks better of it
///sips caffe
But you’re Sicilian, not Italian.
42
Der Kaiser Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:38 AM
The fact that a man can even face the possibility of a 40 year prison sentence for carrying small amount of drugs is just ridiculous.
43
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:38 AM
…and i still dont have much of an idea about isonzo…fuck you wiki.
44
Tim Ryan Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:38 AM
Looking back, the hype around this kid was probably along the lines of Bryce Harper and one of my earliest recollections of a patented Scott Boras hold out.
Yup. The birth of Boras.
45
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:39 AM
The fact that a man can even face the possibility of a 40 year prison sentence for carrying small amount of drugs is just ridiculous.
agreed it is ridiculous…because he doesn’t face a possibility of a 40 year prison sentence for 28 grams. he faces a maximum of 219 months.
46
RexKramerDangerSeeker Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:39 AM
According to a report I read at a conference I just went to, most of us won’t make that much in our entire lives.
And, like Taylor, we won’t make the Majors either.
47
Smallie Bigs Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:40 AM
According to a report I read at a conference I just went to, most of us won’t make that much in our entire lives.
$50,000/year for 30 years. Average household income in the US was $50,512 in the US last year.
48
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:40 AM
excuse me, not a max of 219 months…thatd be the max possible if he had more than 400 grams.
49
Nada Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:40 AM
Did Italians become the new French and I missed it?
It occurred right after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.
Italy isn’t much for soldiering of late, but it did give us Mario Bava, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.
50
vajayjay redick Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:40 AM
The fact that a man can even face the possibility of a 40 year prison sentence for carrying small amount of drugs is just ridiculous.
‘MURRRRRRICA!!!! FUCK YA!
51
kazzythekid Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:41 AM
The fact that a man can even face the possibility of a 40 year prison sentence for carrying small amount of drugs is just ridiculous.
Agreed that 40 years is crazy and harmful to everyone (especially tax payers), but an ounce of crack isn’t small potatoes.
52
Watsonian Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:41 AM
he faces a maximum of 219 months.
219 months for drugs is still ridiculous.
53
Nada Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:41 AM
According to a report I read at a conference I just went to, most of us won’t make that much in our entire lives.
$50,000/year for 30 years. Average household income in the US was $50,512 in the US last year.
Thanks to the many years I spent in the journalism racket, I may never hit the magic mark.
54
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:43 AM
also, had no idea about isonzo…domo.
Read more about it. Those battles took place in landscape that we can hardly comprehend. The Italian supreme commander for most of the war was a guy named Luigi Cadorna. He was famous for dismissing officers for even the slightest failure and summarily executing any officers or soldiers who were thought to retreat too easily. Pretty ruthless guy.
55
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:44 AM
$50,000/year for 30 years. Average household income in the US was $50,512 in the US last year.
28% of Americans have a college degree. Median lifetime earnings for those with only a high school diploma is around $820,000.
56
roastbeast Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:45 AM
i was making 50k/yr when i left the daily in 2002, nada. pay cuts began the next year, then more paycuts, then layoffs. no idea if i’d still be there if i hadn’t left. not sure i’d want to be a sportswriter these days with all the extra responsibilities….social media in particular. they don;t add salary per blog/tweet
57
NinoBrown Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:46 AM
But you’re Sicilian, not Italian.
Sicilian’s are part black
/True Romance’d
//RIP Dennis Hopper
58
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Pretty ruthless guy.
are you sure he wasn’t luigi zhukov?
59
roastbeast Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:46 AM
He was famous for dismissing officers for even the slightest failure and summarily executing any officers or soldiers who were thought to retreat too easily. Pretty ruthless guy.
someone told him to go get his shinebox
60
cracker jack Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:47 AM
he faces a maximum of 219 months.
219 months for drugs is still ridiculous.
These are the people I would let out of prison during the zombie apocalypse. Murderers and pedos can be zombie bait.
61
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:48 AM
isonzo sounds like a meatgrinder…
Further, when attacking further north the Italian army was faced with something of a dilemma: in order to safely cross the Soča (Isonzo) it needed to neutralise the Austro-Hungarian defenders on the mountains above; yet to neutralise these forces the Italian forces needed first to cross the river – an obstacle that the Italians never succeeded in satisfying.
62
NinoBrown Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Sergio Romo’s shirt at WS parade. Classic
63
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Sicilian’s are part black
Sicilians are part black. Spencer is Sicilian.
/makes black Dieck joke.
64
roastbeast Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:55 AM
spence, how long have you been a sicilian quarterblack?
65
spencer096 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 11:57 AM
i lolled.
66
Der Kaiser Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 12:05 PM
//RIP Dennis Hopper
He was comically bad on 24. So much so that I had to go to his IMDB page to confirm that it was indeed him that was playing that role and not some look-a-like.
67
Nada Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 12:09 PM
zhukov
Zhukov hero of motherland. Repel invader from West. No tank will leave position without order from Zhukov!
68
ms621 Says:
November 1st, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Zhukov hero of motherland. Repel invader from West. No tank will leave position without order from Zhukov!
I was always more of a Konev fan.