Dodgers' Chris Taylor Reveals How He's Been Dealing With Struggles This Year

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jun 17, 2024

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Taylor was beginning to wonder if he would ever hit another home run. Entering Friday night's game against the Kansas City Royals, he hadn't hit a home run since last Sept. 7, ending a stretch of 165 plate appearances in between.

With one swing of the bat, Taylor could exhale as he watched a ball fly soar into the left field pavilion, tying the game at 3-3. It was only Taylor’s second extra-base hit in 105 plate appearances, and his 10th hit of the season.

Taylor has held on to the thought that one day he is going to break through his season-long slump by sticking with the process.

For those who don't believe me that Chris Taylor homered, here's video proof.

He raised his OPS a whole 50 points with this swing.

That swing was a great sign for both him and the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/7vUpg3j0Yh

— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) June 15, 2024

“I try to just take it day by day. I definitely have my moments of frustration,” Taylor said of life with a sub-.100 batting average. “I’m just trying to embrace the process and trust that my work is going to eventually come through for me. I know what I’m capable of. Just not losing sight of that and continuing to grind through.”

He also has leaned on his family to fill his cup when he is away from the field, leaving baseball at work.

"I say all the time I don’t know how I would have handled this earlier in my career," Taylor said about his wife and infant son. "I think I took things home with me a lot more. Now that I have my wife and kid at home it’s a good escape from all this. I’m very thankful that I have them.”

Perhaps, the home run was a turning point for Taylor, who will need to step up more now that Mookie Betts has hit the injured list with a fractured left hand.