11/17/24
October 26, 2014
Top Cardinals Prospect Oscar Tavares Killed in Car Accident: St. Louis Cardinals top outfield prospect Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend died in a car accident near his home in the Dominican Republic on Sunday afternoon. The 22-year-old made his Major League debut this season and "entered the season rated as one of baseball's top-three prospects," writes Bill Baer of HardballTalk. He made the postseason roster and hit a pinch-hit home run in the NLCS.
If the Cardinals make it to the World Series, he isn't in the Dominican Republic for this to happen.
In the minors, he had all the makings of a star outfielder, like a lite version of Andrew McCutchen. If he filled up his frame with a bit more muscle (which he had a lot of time to do, being only 22 years old), then he would have been one of the stars of the (inevitable) next NLCS Cardinals team.
posted by grum@work at 08:11 AM on October 27, 2014
For some, this was Tavares' first introduction to MLB fans (during a pre-season game).
And here is probably the highlight of his career, just this month:
posted by grum@work at 08:39 AM on October 27, 2014
Really sad. One of the most promising young talents that was coming up in the league.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:01 PM on October 27, 2014
Young athletes and fast cars seem to have a problem getting along with each other. If one must place blame for such a tragedy, it could fall upon the leagues, the clubs, and probably more heavily upon the agents. Counseling about how to handle sudden wealth and popularity is needed. There have been too many needless deaths from fast vehicles, alcohol, and irresponsible behavior that might have been prevented by someone taking the young people aside and helping them understand how to stay out of trouble.
posted by Howard_T at 01:01 AM on October 28, 2014
The Taveras (and his girlfriend, it should be noted) news is awful. 22 is incredibly young to bury someone. Dude seemed to have a bright career ahead of him as well.