DVD Review: Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball

Despite the song claiming that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, you and I know that in fact the most wonderful time of the year is baseball season. And it is upon us once again. So it’s the perfect time for a baseball documentary. Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball is a short film about the pitcher who became a doctor, and stayed in the game as team physician. It was directed and produced by Ron Taylor’s sons, Drew and Matt.

This film features an interview with Ron Taylor, who talks about his childhood and the influence of his father, and about the scout who found him in Canada. He also discusses signing with Cleveland but wanting to continue school rather than do spring training, and of course about pitching in the 1964 World Series. “And all of a sudden I was completely focused. I didn’t hear any sounds. It was Tim McCarver and me playing catch.”  Tim McCarver adds, “The hitter didn’t exist as far as he was concerned.” Yes, in addition to the interview with Ron Taylor, this film features interviews with several other ball players, including Tim McCarver, Kelly Gruber, Lou Brock and Bob Gibson. McCarver also says, “He threw so hard that it felt like he was doing something illegal, like using a spitter.” Taylor was also a part of the Miracle Mets in 1969.

There is also old footage of Taylor playing, including footage of the 1964 World Series and 1969 World Series. Surprisingly, some of the most interesting material isn’t about baseball at all. Ron Taylor talks about his USO tour in Vietnam, and how that trip changed his life, how visiting wounded soldiers made him want to become a doctor, and how that led to his work with the Blue Jays. By the way, there is also some really good music in this film.

Special Features

The DVD contains quite a bit of bonus material. There is an interview with the filmmakers, in which Matt Taylor and Drew Taylor talk about how it was at first difficult to convince their dad to tell his story, as he’s a rather private person, and about the challenges presented by their being so close to their subject. This interview is approximately twenty-one minutes.

There are also several film festival Q&As. Cinefest International Film Festival includes a panel with Ron Taylor, Drew Taylor and Matthew Taylor. The Napa Valley Film Festival panel includes Ron Taylor, Drew Taylor, Matthew Taylor and composer Mikel Hurwitz.  The panel at the St. Louis International Film Festival includes Ron Taylor, Tim McCarver, Drew Taylor and Matthew Taylor. The sound isn’t perfect on this last one (there is a lot of background noise), but there are some great stories from Ron Taylor, including one about signing with Cleveland, and about the differences in the game between then and now. Tim McCarver tells some wonderful anecdotes as well. These three Q&As total approximately fifty-six minutes.

The special features also include a short piece on the scoring session, and portions of the soundtrack.

Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball was released on March 29, 2016 through First Run Features.