How Miracle Met closer Ron Taylor became 'Dr. Baseball'

Former Mets closer Ron Taylor, whose fastball helped the Miracle Mets win the 1969 World Series, says he’s been thinking recently about the New York team Gil Hodges put together 47 years ago.

“I keep looking at my scrapbook. We had an unusual team, a lot of young players,” says Taylor, 78, who closed down the Orioles in Game 2 of that series. “I was kind of the oldest player at that time.”

What came after that Fall Classic defined Taylor; a U.S.O. trip to Vietnam inspired him to retire from baseball and attend medical school. He trained and practiced medicine in Toronto and in 1979 became the Blue Jays team doctor, where his duties included throwing batting practice well into his 60s.

Taylor…