Winless record motivates Taylor

Wednesday, May 14, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

As if the lure of making a major-league salary wasn't enough incentive, Kerry Taylor had another motivating force driving him to return to the San Diego Padres following radical elbow surgery almost two years ago.

"An 0-5 career record in the big leagues, not having a win up there, is what has kept me going," said Taylor, the Las Vegas Stars right-handed pitcher who underwent the "Tommy John surgery" in 1995 and sat out the entire 1996 season. "There are all kinds of things that you draw on and that's one thing I drew on.

"The other thing is I'm still young and I know that you look at Tim Worrell, Todd Worrell, Troy Percival, people like that who have had (the surgery) and have come back as strong, if not stronger than before."

But, Taylor conceded, there were some days when even that was not enough to keep him going through his lengthy and sometimes painful rehabilitation.

"There are some days you wonder if it's all worth it," Taylor said prior to the Stars' 6-2 loss to Calgary Tuesday night at Cashman Field. "But being that I've been (to the major leagues) and seen what it's like, I know every minute that I put into it is worth every bit of it."

Taylor, 26, was selected by the Padres from the Minnesota Twins' minor-league system in the 1992 Rule Five Draft and spent the entire 1993 season with San Diego, where he was 0-5 with a 6.45 ERA in 36 games, including seven starts.

He spent the 1994 season with the Stars and was 9-9 with a 5.54 ERA in 27 starts and led the Pacific Coast League with 142 strikeouts. He earned a September call-up but appeared in only one game with the Padres.

Taylor began the 1995 season in Las Vegas and was 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA in eight starts before he was sidelined with an elbow injury. He underwent the surgery, where a ligament is transplanted from the forearm to the elbow, and has been pleasantly surprised by his progress. Taylor made five starts this season at double-A Mobile, Ala., before joining the Stars last week for his third tour.

"I'm happy to be back up here as quick as it happened," Taylor said of his return to Las Vegas. "I expected it to be around the all-star break, realistically. My main thing right now is to prove I can pitch and prove I can stay healthy. I think I've shown I still have the stuff, it's just a matter of showing I'm healthy now.

"It's nice to get back up here again and reap some rewards for everything I've gone through with the rehab."

In a perverse sort of way, Taylor said he has become a better pitcher because of the surgery.

"In a way, it was a blessing, but you don't want to wish on your worst enemy to go through anything like that," said Taylor, who will make his second start with the Stars tonight against Calgary at Cashman Field. "When you have the surgery, you have to re-learn your mechanics all over again, so I am more comfortable with what I'm doing on the mound. As far as making adjustments, I've got a little better idea of what I've got to do to do that.

"I think my location on my fastball is a lot better. If (the catcher) calls for an inside fastball, it's going to be inside 90 percent of the time rather than 20. Strength-wise, I'm stronger than I was before surgery because of all the rehab you do. I'm a lot stronger than I was two years ago."

As far as velocity, Taylor said he has lost only about one mph off his fastball, but has more than made up for that with his increased control.

Taylor has no idea when he will make it back with the Padres, but his time away from the game has taught him patience and reinforced his love for the game.

"You get a year and a half to sit back and think about your career ... it's helped me sit back and say, 'OK, this is what I want to do. This is the ultimate job and it's what I love to do,'" he said. "That's the other thing that drives you through the whole rehab, just knowing that anything you can do is not going to compare to the enjoyment you get out of playing this game."