St. Louis outfielder Oscar Taveras killed in car accident
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Oscar Taveras, the St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder regarded as one of the majors’ top prospects, died Sunday in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic. He was 22.
Taveras was driving a two thousand fourteen Chevrolet Camaro at the time of the crash on a highway inbetween the beaches of Sosua and Cabarete in Puerto Plata, about two hundred fifteen 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 assets 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, Legitimate, who was in the car with Taveras, also died in the accident, Pesqueira said.
Taveras made his major league debut this year. He hit .239 with three homers and twenty two RBIs in eighty games for the NL Central champions.
“I simply can’t believe it,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a release. “I very first met Oscar when he was sixteen years old and will forever recall him as a wonderful youthfull man who was a gifted athlete with an infectious love for life who lived every day to the fullest.”
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said the organization was “stunned and deeply saddened.”
“Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time,” DeWitt said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.”
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. Three 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 two in the NL Championship Series against San Francisco.
“All of us across Major League Baseball are in mourning this evening,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. “Oscar, a youthful member of the baseball family, was utter 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 react to treatment. He then got off to a nice commence at Triple-A Memphis this season, earning a promotion by batting .325 with seven homers in forty nine games.
“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 effortless to lose a member of our fraternity, and to lose one so youthfull is devastating news.”
Giants outfielder Juan Perez heard about Taveras’ death during Game five of the World Series. He hit a two-run dual in the eighth inning of San Francisco’s 5-0 victory and dedicated the hit to his fallen countryman.
“He’s a indeed close friend of mine,” Perez said. “I know his family pretty good, I know his mom, his dad, his brothers, we were indeed close. It’s a gigantic loss for all his family, his teammates and the people that care about him.”
Several of Taveras’ Cardinals teammates took to Twitter to express their condolences.
Rookie 2nd baseman Kolten Wong tweeted:
All-Star reliever Pat Neshek posted:
Last thirty minutes I’ve been sick to my belly. Keep thinking about Oscar’s big smile in the dugout whenever we made a big play/got a big hit
I joked with him since our apartments were next to each other about how he could fit almost twelve dozen bats in his car.
Oscar Taveras, St
St. Louis outfielder Oscar Taveras killed in car accident
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Oscar Taveras, the St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder regarded as one of the majors’ top prospects, died Sunday in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic. He was 22.
Taveras was driving a two thousand fourteen Chevrolet Camaro at the time of the crash on a highway inbetween the beaches of Sosua and Cabarete in Puerto Plata, about two hundred fifteen 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 assets 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, Legitimate, who was in the car with Taveras, also died in the accident, Pesqueira said.
Taveras made his major league debut this year. He hit .239 with three homers and twenty two RBIs in eighty games for the NL Central champions.
“I simply can’t believe it,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a release. “I very first met Oscar when he was sixteen years old and will forever recall him as a wonderful youthfull man who was a gifted athlete with an infectious love for life who lived every day to the fullest.”
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said the organization was “stunned and deeply saddened.”
“Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time,” DeWitt said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.”
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. Three 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 two in the NL Championship Series against San Francisco.
“All of us across Major League Baseball are in mourning this evening,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. “Oscar, a youthful member of the baseball family, was total 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 react to treatment. He then got off to a nice begin at Triple-A Memphis this season, earning a promotion by batting .325 with seven homers in forty nine games.
“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 effortless to lose a member of our fraternity, and to lose one so youthfull is devastating news.”
Giants outfielder Juan Perez heard about Taveras’ death during Game five of the World Series. He hit a two-run dual in the eighth inning of San Francisco’s 5-0 victory and dedicated the hit to his fallen countryman.
“He’s a indeed close friend of mine,” Perez said. “I know his family pretty good, I know his mom, his dad, his brothers, we were truly close. It’s a meaty loss for all his family, his teammates and the people that care about him.”
Several of Taveras’ Cardinals teammates took to Twitter to express their condolences.
Rookie 2nd baseman Kolten Wong tweeted:
All-Star reliever Pat Neshek posted:
Last thirty minutes I’ve been sick to my tummy. Keep thinking about Oscar’s big smile in the dugout whenever we made a big play/got a big hit
I joked with him since our apartments were next to each other about how he could fit almost twelve dozen bats in his car.