Oscar Taveras, the top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system, was called up this season and made the team's postseason roster. He returned home to the Dominican Republic after St. Louis was eliminated in the NLCS and the 22-year-old was killed in a car crash on Sunday.
Taveras played 80 regular season games with the Cardinals in 2014 and batted .239 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. He then got seven at-bats (.429 average with two runs, one home run and one RBI) during the team's playoff run that ended in a loss to the Giants in the NLCS. Taveras was ranked the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2014 season by Baseball America.
But now his teammates as well as others across the MLB are mourning the death of the young outfielder after his family identified his body at the scene of the deadly car accident yesterday. Taveras was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro on a highway between the beaches of Sosua and Cabarete in Puerto Plata and lost control of the car and went off the road, according to Dominican officials. Taveras' 18-year-old girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, was also killed in the crash.
"I simply can't believe it," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in this MLB.com article. "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."
Giants' outfielder Juan Perez was good friends with Taveras and he heard of his passing during Game 5 of the World Series last night. The Giants were up 2-0 in the eighth inning and Perez came to the plate with two runners on. After he pointed to the sky to honor his late friend, Perez smacked a two-run double off of Wade Davis to help solidify the Giants' 5-0 victory. San Francisco now leads the World Series 3-2.
"It's tough. He was a really close friend of mine," said Perez. "I know his family pretty good. I know his mom, his dad, his brothers. We were really close. We played together in Winter Ball. It's a huge loss, not only for all his family, for all his teammates and the people that care about him."
Taveras was expected to solidify the core of the Cardinals' outfield, especially after his success in the minor leagues. His 2013 season was shortened due to injuries, but the outfielder batted .321 with 23 home runs and 94 RBIs in 2012 with Double-A Springfield and followed that up with a .318 average, eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 62 games with Triple-A Memphis before he was promoted to the majors.
