Cardinals’ Taveras dies in crash at 22

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(SportsNetwork.com) – St. Louis Cardinals rookie Oscar Taveras died Sunday in an automobile accident in his native Dominican Republic, the team and a police official said.

Taveras was 22.

“We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family,” Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.”

National police spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete tweeted that Taveras lost control of his car driving between Cabarete and Sosua in Puerto Plata. He said the player and a “young lady who accompanied him” were both killed instantly.

“I simply can’t believe it,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. “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.”

Players expressed condolences and shock on social media over the loss of one of the top offensive prospects in baseball.

“Absolute tragedy,” Cardinals teammate Matt Carpenter tweeted.

Taveras batted .239 in 80 games this season with three home runs and 22 RBI.

One of his biggest moments came just two weeks before his death when he hit a game-tying, pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning to help the Cardinals win Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 12.

His last appearance came in Game 5 on Oct. 16, when he grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth inning and remained in the game to play right field. He was in right when Travis Ishikawa homered into the stands behind him to win the series for San Francisco.

The Cardinals said they would provide funeral arrangements at a later time.

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