July 25, 2014

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Former Virginia infielder Chris Taylor was called up Thursday (July 24) to the big leagues by the Seattle Mariners. The Virginia Beach native made his MLB debut Thursday night, starting at shortstop and going 1-for-3 in the Mariners' game against the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field in Seattle.

Taylor singled back up the middle in the sixth inning against Baltimore starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen for his first major-league hit.

Taylor is the 34th Cavalier to reach the big leagues. He becomes the eighth former UVa player to earn a spot on a Major League roster in 2014, marking a program record for one season. Kyle Crockett (Cleveland) also made his MLB debut this year, while Sean Doolittle (Oakland), Phil Gosselin (Atlanta), Brandon Guyer (Tampa Bay), Javier Lopez (San Francisco), Mark Reynolds (Milwaukee) and Ryan Zimmerman (Washington) all have spent time in Major League Baseball once again this season.

Taylor is the 10th Cavalier to have played under the current coaching staff to reach Major League Baseball (since 2004).

Taylor played from 2010-12 for Virginia. He played in 156 games in a UVa uniform, with a .297 career batting average and 172 hits. Taylor played some of his best baseball during the NCAA tournament, with a .400 career average (22-for-55) in the postseason. This includes one of the most notable hits in Virginia baseball history, a walk-off, two-run single in the ninth inning to rally the Cavaliers and send them to the 2011 College World Series in a 3-2 Super Regional win over UC Irvine.

Taylor hit .284 with five home runs and 47 RBI in his junior campaign. He played in all 127 games for Virginia his last two seasons.