It’s time again to take another cold plunge for a good cause.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers World Series champion Chris Taylor and his wife, Mary Taylor, who live in the South Bay, will host the third annual “CT3 Polar Plunge” on Sunday, Feb. 1, at the Manhattan Beach Pier.
They will be joined by former Dodger teammates and other MLB players, Taylor said in a recent interview, though he could not confirm who will attend.
“I spent the majority of my career with the Dodgers, so it will probably be mostly current and former Dodgers,” Taylor said. “Hopefully we can get some other baseball players and maybe other L.A. athletes there as well.”
The event raised more than $200,000 in 2025.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ players and fans took to the chilly waters adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier for the second annual CT3 Polar Plunge hosted by veteran player Chris Taylor and wife Mary Taylor. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ players and fans took to the chilly waters adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier for the second annual CT3 Polar Plunge hosted by veteran player Chris Taylor and wife Mary Taylor. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ players and fans took to the chilly waters adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier for the second annual CT3 Polar Plunge hosted by veteran player Chris Taylor and wife Mary Taylor. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda pictured signing for a fan following the second annual CT3 Polar Plunge hosted by veteran player Chris Taylor and wife Mary Taylor. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ players and fans took to the chilly waters adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier for the second annual CT3 Polar Plunge hosted by veteran player Chris Taylor and wife Mary Taylor. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ players and fans took to the chilly waters adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier for the second annual CT3 Polar Plunge hosted by veteran player Chris Taylor and wife Mary Taylor. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)
Again this year, the event will raise money for the Taylor’s CT3 Foundation and the Friendship Foundation in the South Bay. But a new beneficiary this year is the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.
The CT3 Foundation was founded in Virginia Beach in honor of Kyle Profilet, Taylor’s childhood friend who died in 2019 from a rare form of bone cancer, when he was only 28 years old.
“A big reason I started the CT3 Foundation was because my best friend growing up passed away from osteosarcoma,” Taylor said, “so I always wanted to do something with cancer.”
Mary Taylor also lost a childhood friend to sarcoma in 2020.
The Taylors have met with some sick children, including one with brain cancer, and their families, at Dodger Stadium. The mother of the boy fighting cancer suggested the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation as a beneficiary, Taylor said.
The PCRF was founded in 1982 and “pursued one bold mission: to ensure every child with cancer not only survives but thrives,” according to its website.
“PCRF has invested more than $61 million in research,” its website says, “driving breakthroughs that change outcomes for kids.”
The money raised will help the Friendship Foundation build its 62,000 square-foot Friendship Campus in Redondo Beach. The goal of the campus is to help youth and young adults who are neurodivergent foster independent life skills through various vocational programs.
In 2025, the plunge also supported the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and firefighters who battled the wildfires in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena.
Prior to the plunge, CT3 hosted “Driving for Hope” at Top Golf in El Segundo in 2023, which benefited Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The event brought out Dodger teammates, legends like Albert Pujols and Fernando Valenzuela, and Los Angeles Kings stars.
The plunge, presented by Schwartz Capital Group and Skechers, will begin at 9 a.m. at the Manhattan Beach Pier.
Participants will line up on the sand and, as in past years, take the plunge. Dodgers stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Tyler Glasnow and Will Smith have participated in past years.
All participants will receive an event towel and a finisher’s medal, and there will be entertainment, cocoa and other activities.
Following the plunge, there will be a VIP event at the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach.
Taylor spent the 2025 season between the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels, but is currently a free agent.
“I know the way free agency works right now, and it’s really slow this time of year,” Taylor said. “So I’m not thinking or stressing too much about it. At the moment, I’m really just trying to prepare myself and make sure wherever I end up, I’m ready and I can perform, going to Spring Training, playing my best. So (I’m) kind of just taking that mentality, and then we’ll see what offers are on the table.”
As for the Dodgers defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series in seven games, Taylor said it was an “incredible” and “exciting series.”
“I was extremely happy for the guys, for my teammates, obviously, very close to a lot of them,” Taylor said. “And I think it was good for the sport of baseball. It was back and forth exciting. It really had everything you wanted to have, the star power, and then you had the guys you wouldn’t expect to step up. I thought it was just maybe the best World Series I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
Taylor said he had a long career with the Dodgers and was able to play many postseason games.
“One thing I always appreciated about playing with the Dodgers,” he said, “was you knew you’re going to be playing in October.”
For more information, visit ct3foundation.org, or for tickets e.givesmart.com.