Cardinals, Baseball Try To Cope With Stunning Death Of Young Oscar Taveras
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Monday he was stunned by the death of 22-year-old outfielder Oscar Taveras in a car accident and his players were struggling with deep anguish after losing a young teammate.
"I was asked last night to give some words regarding the tragic death of Oscar Taveras, but I just simply couldn't," Matheny said. "To say this is a horrible loss of a life ended too soon would be an understatement."
Taveras died Sunday in his native Dominican Republic. He was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro at the time of the crash on a highway between the beaches of Sosua and Cabarete in Puerto Plata, about 215 miles north of the capital of Santo Domingo, said Col. Diego Pesqueira of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency.
"He wasn't carrying documents at the time of the accident, but his body was identified by family members," Pesqueira said.
National police spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete said he was told by the mayor of Sosua that Taveras lost control of his vehicle and went off the road. Edilia Arvelo, 18, who was in the car with Taveras, also died in the accident, Pesqueira said.
Giants outfielder Juan Perez heard about Taveras' death during Game 5 of the World Series. He hit a two-run double in the eighth inning of San Francisco's 5-0 victory and dedicated the hit to his fallen countryman.
"He's a really close friend of mine," Perez said. "I know his family pretty good, I know his mom, his dad, his brothers, we were really close. It's a huge loss for all his family, his teammates and the people that care about him."
Taveras made his major league debut this year. He hit .239 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 80 games for the NL Central champions.
"I simply can't believe it," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "I first met Oscar when he was 16 years old and will forever remember him as a wonderful young man who was a gifted athlete with an infectious love for life who lived every day to the fullest."
Matheny said the team had forged deep ties and affection for Taveras.
"In my opinion, the word `love' is the most misused, and misunderstood word in the English language. It is not popular for men to use this word, and even less popular for athletes," he said. "But, there is not a more accurate word for how a group of men share a deep and genuine concern for each other. We loved Oscar, and he loved us. That is what a team does, that is what a family does. You will be missed, Oscar."
Taveras was a teenager when he signed with St. Louis as an international free agent in 2008. Before this season, Taveras was ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America, and had a .321 average over six minor league seasons. He homered against the Giants' Yusmeiro Petit in his major league debut May 31. He also had a big solo drive in the seventh inning of Game 2 in the NL Championship Series against San Francisco.
"All of us throughout Major League Baseball are in mourning this evening," commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "Oscar, a young member of the baseball family, was full of promise and at the dawn of a wonderful career in our game, evident in his game-tying home run against the Giants exactly two weeks ago."
It looked as if Taveras was headed to the majors in 2013, but he had surgery for a high right ankle sprain last August for an injury that did not respond to treatment. He got off to a nice start at Triple-A Memphis this season, earning a promotion by batting .325 with seven homers in 49 games.
Several of Taveras' Cardinals teammates took to Twitter to express their condolences.
"Last 30 minutes I've been sick to my stomach. Keep thinking about Oscar's big smile in the dugout whenever we made a big play/got a big hit," All-Star reliever Pat Neshek posted. Rookie second baseman Kolten Wong tweeted: "RIP you will be missed buddy."
"Oscar had a very promising future, on and off the field, and this news is heartbreaking on many levels," Tony Clark, the leader of the players' association, said in a statement. "It's never easy to lose a member of our fraternity, and to lose one so young is devastating news."
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