The St. Louis Cardinals suffered a tragic loss on Sunday, Oct. 26, when outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic.
The baseball player, who was 22 at the time of his death, was driving the car in his home country with his girlfriend Edilia Arvelo, 18, when he crashed, killing them both.
In a statement tweeted from the Cardinals’ official Twitter handle, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said, “We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals’ family. 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.”
Taveras’ teammates were shocked, speaking in a remembrance piece posted on the Cardinals’ official website.
“Baseball, at moments like this, seems so far from being important,” third baseman Matt Carpenter said. “It’s one of those things that it’s going to leave a hole. It’s going be a hard thing to get over. You could envision him as a guy who was going to be around for a while and a big part of your future. The excitement and the joy that he brought, it’s something I will remember.”
Taveras was drafted to the Cardinals in November 2013. At the beginning of the 2014 season, MLB.com ranked him as one of the top prospects in the MLB.
His final tweet was, “Thanks for all the fan support!,” on Oct. 13.
