October 11th, 2018 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Although Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has yet to officially announced his roster for the National League Championship Series which begins on Friday evening at 5:09 pm PT at Miller Park in Milwaukee, there is one name that you can pretty much bet the farm will be on it. That name is Chris Taylor.
Yes, the same Chris Taylor (or CT3, as he is affectionately known) who led the entire National League with his 178 strikeouts during the just-concluded 2018 regular season.
Why on earth would Roberts include a guy with such a dubious distinction on what is unquestionably his most important 25-man roster thus far this season, you ask?
A very good question with a very simple answer.
For reasons that defy all logic (and sabermetrics), Chris Taylor is the Dodgers version of ‘Mr. October.’
Check this out:
In the combined 18 postseason games, combined 75 plate appearances, and combined 62 at-bats in which Taylor has appeared since being acquired by the Dodgers from the Seattle Mariners on June 19, 2016 (in exchange for highly touted former Dodgers first-rounder Zach Lee), Taylor has a postseason slash-line of .258 / .387 / .548 / for an above average OPS of .938. He has also slugged four postseason home runs, hit four doubles, one triple, and has driven in nine runs in those combined 18 postseason games.
Taylor was also named co-MVP of last year’s NLCS (along with Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner) for his remarkable .316 / .458 / .789 / 1.248 slash-line during that five-games-to-one series win over the Chicago Cubs.
Chris Taylor seems to have a knack for coming up big once the calendar flips to October. Let’s just hope that this October is no different. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
Although we are only talking two postseasons here for Taylor (as compared to 11 postseasons for the real ‘Mr October’ – Reggie Jackson), what has Dodger fans absolutely scratching their collective heads is that during the 2018 regular season, Taylor slashed a rather pedestrian .254 / .331 / .444 / .775 that included those aforementioned league-leading 178 strikeouts. And while there may be many who would rather see Alex Verdugo or Andrew Toles or Kyle Farmer on Roberts’ 2018 NLCS roster over CT3, it is simply impossible to ignore Taylor’s inexplicable past postseason numbers.
But rather than questioning or trying to figure out Taylor’s Twilight Zone-ish postseason numbers, why not just embrace them.
…or bet the farm on them.
Play Ball!
Posted in 
I think I’ll take your advice, just enjoy it. Actually, that .258 BA surprised me. I was expecting something higher.
I’ve said before, I just have a good feeling about this year’s team. They compare favorably to the ’81 and ’88 World Championship teams, at least in my mind.
October 20, 1988: Did anybody even imagine that night that we’d be waiting 30 years (and still counting) for the next one? Or even 29 years to even be in one again?
It’s time!
Chris Taylor is my favorite Dodger. He’s a grinder—kind of Paul O’Neil like—and does something special whatever game he’s in, fielding or hitting. Predictions that his hitting would regress this year has proven true according to average. But I pull for him to confound those expectations.
I hope Dave pulls the plug on Bellinger quickly if he goes hitless in game one. I think good pitching stops him cold every time and the best four teams all have the best pitching, which means, Cody will look small again if you leave him in there too long. Please don’t let him embarrass himself and our team with 4 strikeouts a game again.
Likely Cody will sit the first two games with LHP in both. Freese at first, CT3 or Kike (if Dozier is at 2B) in CF most likely.
It sure doesn’t look bad with Kersh and Ryu in Milwaukee. Having Walker start at home is a good idea.