Eli Taylor
by Martín Abresch
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Hailing from Rochester, New York, Taylor joined the nearby Buffalo Colts (now the Buffalo Beavers) in 1879 and played his entire career with Buffalo. Lefty immediately became the staff workhorse. In 1880, he led the league in strikeouts, a feat he would accomplish eight times. On July 16, 1883, he no-hit the Troy Trojans, striking out seven and walking none. He won 30 games five times in his career and became the second pitcher, after George Stonge, to reach the 300-win plateau. He finished with a record of 355-367 with a 2.19 ERA and 2717 strikeouts. He led the league in wins (1883-84, 1886, 1888), ERA (1881-82, 1888), strikeouts (1880-86, 1889), games started (1879-81, 1885, 1887), innings pitched (1886-87), WHIP (1880-82, 1884-89), and pitcher WAR (1880, 1882-87, 1889). In 1888 he led Buffalo to their first (and thus far, only) World Championship, being named World Series MVP in the process. He was named Player of the Week 18 times and Pitcher of the Month nine times.
The first player to win 350 games and strike out 2,500 batters.
In 1947, Eli Taylor was elected to the Hall of Fame.