Green enjoys changing lives in scouting role
There’s an allure of excitement to Taylor Green’s job that he loves.
The 33-year-old native of Comox, British Columbia, is the assistant director of scouting and international player development for the Brewers, a role that has evolved since he made the leap from the playing field to the front office in 2016. Green moved from strictly pro scouting quickly into a supervisory role, transitioning to international evaluation, and -- when not working from home amid a global pandemic -- occasionally still works on the domestic pro and amateur side, also dabbling in development.
But it’s the international scene, and one dramatic experience in particular, that has drawn Green in like nothing else has. Most of Green’s international travel time is spent in Latin America, but part of his job responsibility surrounds the emerging markets, including Taiwan, China, Korea and the East Indies, and an early highlight of his foray into international scouting centers around Jolon Zhao, a right-hander from Beijing.
Two years ago, as the international signing period was coming to a close, Green and his boss Mike Groopman, director of international scouting, were in Cartagena, Colombia, attending a showcase. At the same time, a 16-year-old Zhao was pitching in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League, 7,000 miles and 18 time zones from his parents and his home.
A video of Zhao made its way to Pitching Ninja, and through the popular social media account to Green and the Brewers, who sent an evaluator to see the young righty in person. The club’s interest only grew, which led Green to Ray Chang. The two had played against each other through the Minor Leagues, and Chang had since moved into a management role at Major League Baseball’s development center in China.
“He was able to put us in contact with Jolon’s family through a translator,” Green said. “Jolon was in Maryland playing in that summer league, his parents were in China, and we were in Colombia. Trying to navigate the process was just an incredible thing -- from three different continents -- it was quite an experience.”
But that was only the beginning.
“The very end of that story is we had to get his parents to notarize a contract because he was only 16 years old,” Green said. “And in China, obviously there was a huge time change -- 13 hours -- and with the international signing period closing we had to get all the paperwork submitted. I had no reception on my phone at the Cartagena stadium in Colombia, so we’re in a taxi driving back to the hotel just trying to get reception.
“I’m in the car, I’m on the phone with the translator trying to make sure the deal’s good to go, and there are 15 or 20 minutes left before the notary closed where they were going in China. I finally get reception, and sure enough we get pulled over by the Colombian police.”
Green remained on his phone as his taxi driver pulled their car over, and also while his driver asked him in Spanish to get off of it. Even still, he kept the call going while getting glances from the police officer as he spoke to the driver about his busted headlight.
“I’m thinking that I can’t get off the phone because if I lose reception and lose the family, we’re not going to get the deal done,” he said. “I stayed on the phone, his parents ended up getting everything notarized, we connected all the dots, and lucky enough Jolon was able to sign that night our time; the next morning their time. It was a wild ride.
“And ever since that point -- it was pretty early into my international scouting experiences -- I’ve been all in. I love it. I want to do this the rest of my life after that. It was so exciting.”
Green didn’t know he’d love scouting so much when he ventured into it. He’d never given it much thought before the summer of 2015, when he was working his way back from hip surgery at Double-A Biloxi and fellow Canadians and Brewers executives Doug Melvin and Gord Ash, along with Zack Minasian, approached the infielder about making a change.
Since being selected by the Brewers in the 25th round of the 2005 Draft out of Cypress College in California, he’d spent nine years with the organization -- getting into 78 games at the big league level -- but he could see the writing on the wall to go with the offer in front of him.
“I was trying to decide what to do next,” Green said. “I was still thinking about playing. I was only 28 but I was coming off hip surgery and it wasn’t recovering the way I wanted. I was bad at baseball. I knew I needed to do something else. ... They said, ‘You’re certainly welcome to try and play next year, but have you considered scouting or coaching before?’”
Green finished his playing career with Team Canada, suiting up for the final time at Premier 12 in 2015, following appearances with the national squad at the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the 2010 World Cup qualifier, the 2007 Olympic qualifier and World Cup, and as a member of the country’s junior team in 2003 and ’04.
Now five years after that consideration, and after taking the field between the white lines for the last time, Green has come to realize the privilege of offering the same opportunity to young players that the Brewers gave to him not so long ago.
“My favorite part of this side of the game is just seeing how it changes somebody’s life,” he said. “You remember back to when you were drafted, and seeing that feeling [experienced] many times a year, every single time it’s amazing to see. And to know that we’re having the ability to impact somebody’s life in a positive way, it’s just an incredible feeling.”