Taylor reached career highs of 109 games, 13 home runs, and a .269 average for the 1959 Cubs. That June 30, he was involved in a bizarre situation when two balls were put into play at one time. With a 3-1 count on Stan Musial, umpire Vic Delmore called ball four, but Taylor argued that the pitch had been fouled. He stood at the plate, arguing, as the ball rolled to the backstop. Musial took off for second as the dispute continued, and third baseman Alvin Dark ran to retrieve the ball, which had been tossed by the bat boy to field announcer Pat Peiper, who let it drop so that Dark could field it. Meanwhile, umpire Delmore had routinely handed a new ball to Taylor. Pitcher Bob Anderson threw the ball to second at the same time that Dark’s throw of the first ball reached shortstop Ernie Banks. As Anderson’s high throw went into the outfield, Musial thought he would continue to third, but Banks tagged him out with the initial ball. The umpires erroneously ruled Musial out despite the bat boy’s having touched the ball.
