A shame or a waste...absolutely a sad story for all. Former Yankee top prospect:

[YankeeRLA1968]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7639826/ex-new-york-yankees-pitching-hopeful-brien-taylor-jailed-drug-charges

From ESPN:
"BEAUFORT, N.C. -- Former New York Yankees pitching prospect Brien Taylor, the overall No. 1 selection in the 1991 draft, is facing multiple drug charges after his arrest in North Carolina.

The Carteret County Sheriff's Office said the 40-year-old Taylor of Beaufort was arrested Thursday. A statement said undercover narcotics agents bought a large quantity of cocaine and crack cocaine from Taylor over several months.

Taylor got a then-record $1.55 million signing bonus from the Yankees. But after excelling at Double-A in 1993, he got into a fight that winter and injured his pitching shoulder. He was never the same after major surgery."

[YankeeRLA1968]

I don't have much tolerance for people that waste their opportunity. I think most people are given at least one grand chance to do something. I state most people as I know nothing is absolute.

I remember this kid because obviously in 1991...as a Yankee fan, we were hungry...thirsty...you name it starving for anyhing to get to a respectable team. The 80's were harsh. Then this kid dropped off the face of the planet. It is sad at 40, he is still a thug.

[NJYankeeFan]

I feel more sympathy for him than for some. He got into a fight at age 18 or 19. Plenty of us have been there. It ruined his career. Probably depressing for someone that high up to be brought that low.

Sure he has made mistakes but I do feel bad for him.

[lhslancers]

1.5 million 20 years ago? I have no sympathy for an idiot like that.

[Gary Dunaier]

$1,550,000 in 1991 is equivalent to $2,579,520.93 in 2012 dollars.

[YankeeRLA1968]

I feel more sympathy for him than for some. He got into a fight at age 18 or 19. Plenty of us have been there. It ruined his career. Probably depressing for someone that high up to be brought that low.

Sure he has made mistakes but I do feel bad for him.

I have my unwavering feelings for those given opportunity. I would have given almost any major organ or body limb to be a pro baseball player much less for the Yankees. I am content with my life but to envision standing the mound in Yankee Stadium wearing pinstripes...I am sorry but it pisses me off to those that take ti for granted. Maybe they were a product of people treating them like roylaty all their life.

Yes at 18 or 19, most people make mistakes but in today's society...much less back then you have to be accountable. I would not be in my field if I made a foolish mistake of drugs, getting in trouble with the law, or whatever to have a criminal record. So I am a bit sad for him not straightening his life out but how do you not focus on teh task at hand when you are making the kind of money he was back in 1991?

I mean I have seen some 30 for 30 episodes from ESPN..highly recommend them. I know Marcus Dupree was a head case as was some others. I don't like to see people suffer nor am I sadistic but I also can't get past pissing away their opportunity that a normal hard working person like me never even sniffed at, not to sound bitter. I am content with my time as a varsity athlete in multiple sports in a small town high school. But still can't really imagine how cool it would be to be the big stud on campus at college or play Major League Baseball after being the stud on the farm.

[GiambiJuice]

$1,550,000 in 1991 is equivalent to $2,579,520.93 in 2012 dollars.

And that number is before taxes, agent's fee, etc... Not a huge amount of money at the end of the day. Certainly not enough to be set up for life.

[YankeeRLA1968]

And that number is before taxes, agent's fee, etc... Not a huge amount of money at the end of the day. Certainly not enough to be set up for life.

That was just his signing bonus. No not enough to retire wealthy on but certainly a life changer and should have been a motivator to stay on course.

[Gary Dunaier]

[lhslancers]

And that number is before taxes, agent's fee, etc... Not a huge amount of money at the end of the day. Certainly not enough to be set up for life.

Not a huge amount of money huh? That's a ton of money. You could have bought a nice little house for well under a quarter mil and been set up for life. You can't go clubbing every nite with the Cristal flowing but how many here do that? Just an idiot is all this guy is.

[White Knight]

Not a huge amount of money huh? That's a ton of money. You could have bought a nice little house for well under a quarter mil and been set up for life. You can't go clubbing every nite with the Cristal flowing but how many here do that? Just an idiot is all this guy is.

Yeah, even if after everything he only wound up with $600,000, that's 1991 value (over a million today), and you could buy a business and invest and turn that into 100 million.

[NJYankeeFan]

Yeah, even if after everything he only wound up with $600,000, that's 1991 value (over a million today), and you could buy a business and invest and turn that into 100 million.

How many kids with nothing more than a hs diploma are going to create a successful business like that.

Not saying he could not have gotten over the disappointment, used the money to go back to school, saved for a downpayment on a decent house, buy a modest car and start a retirement account.

He could have and should have. But easier said than done.

[PVNICK]

Why don't you run a search on how most of the big time lottery winners end up. Maybe it's just selective reporting (or memory) but it is usually pretty poor. The kid got into a fight and broke his hand effectively ending his money maker and throing himself back into the pool.

[KCGHOST]

The kid got a nice pile of change at an early age. Not enough to set him up for life but a decent start. The unfortunate bar room thing just ruined his chances to make it to the bigs. Remember the guy was 19 or so when all this went down. Do you really want to sit around and think of all the dumb stuff you were pulling at that age?? Cut him some slack there. Even if he had had proper adult supervision he may well not have listened to it. That's not dumb or idiotic that's being 19.

[YankeeRLA1968]

The kid got a nice pile of change at an early age. Not enough to set him up for life but a decent start. The unfortunate bar room thing just ruined his chances to make it to the bigs. Remember the guy was 19 or so when all this went down. Do you really want to sit around and think of all the dumb stuff you were pulling at that age?? Cut him some slack there. Even if he had had proper adult supervision he may well not have listened to it. That's not dumb or idiotic that's being 19.

I hate to see anyone completely screw up their life with one dumb move after another. I have no idea what he grew up from. So, I want to be careful to stereotype.

All I can say is that I disagree with giving him a pass because he was 19. That is BS to put it lightly. I spent 20 plus years in Law Enforcement and Corporate Security. I remember in college an instructor posing the question to erase someone's record after they served their time. This made everyone in class go crazy. I am sorry but for me and people today in my former field...much less many other fields...there is no pass for being 19 or in some cases even 15 or 16. A simple DUI...possession of narcotic...much less some type of battery, and you are not eligable in the criminal justice field or some other occupations.

This kid had the world. Obviously there was some punk in him to fight in a bar. I mean is it accident that Derek Jeter never had an incident like this? Much less any other squirmishes with the law? Guys like Allen Iverson are still getting arrested today. It is not a race thing...it is punk thing. I don't give a pass for baing 19. This guy would have been right there on the 90's title teams. He likely would have had a solid career...yet one night in a bar it was more important to be tough than to walk away. Defines a punk to me.