No cause of death has been released. However, Taylor did suffer a series of strokes in August 2019 after making an appearance at Citizens Bank Park to mark Bobby Abreu's induction into the team's Wall of Fame.
Born in Cuba, Taylor signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1954. The Chicago Cubs acquired Taylor in the Rule 5 Draft prior to the 1958 season. In May 1960, the Cubs traded Taylor to the Phillies where he became an immediate fan favorite and was selected to the NL All-Star Team.
While Taylor would never make another All-Star Team, he would be a mainstay in the Phillies lineup for more than a decade primarily at second base although he would occasionally play at third, first and in the outfield. Taylor was a superb fielder and a decent hitter who managed to weather the storm of the team's late season collapse in 1964.
In June 1971, the Phillies traded Taylor to the Detroit Tigers. Although heartbroken with the trade, Taylor would make his only post-season appearances with the Tigers when they won the AL East in 1972 but were unable to overcome the Oakland A's.
Released by the Tigers following the 1973 season, Taylor returned to the Phillies where he played three more season primarily as a reserve player before retiring after the 1976 season. Taylor finished his career with 2007 hits for a lifetime batting average of .261 with 75 HR and 598 RBI.
Taylor would remain with the Phillies organization for the rest of the 1970's as part of the major league coaching staff from 1977-1979. He would rejoin the Phillies in 1982 serving as a minor league manager and roving instructor through 1987 rejoining the big league team's coaching staff in 1988 and 1989. Taylor wanted to become the Phillies manager, but never got the chance and left the team to join the San Francisco Giants as a minor league coach in 1990.
After two seasons in the Giants organization, Taylor began a long association with the Florida Marlins as the team's minor league coordinator and once again became a big league coach during the 1999 season. He would leave the Marlins after 2001, but rejoined their coaching staff again in 2004 before retiring from baseball for good.
Despite not being with the Phillies and Marlins when they won World Series in 1980 and 2003, Taylor was bestowed with championship rings, the latter given to him by Marlins pitcher Brad Penny. No doubt this gave Taylor a penny for his thoughts.
But Taylor was first and foremost a Phillie and would be inducted to their Wall of Fame in 2002. R.I.P.
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