The excitement of Game 5 of The World Series was dimmed with the news of the passing of promising St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Oscar Taveras on Sunday. Taveras, 22, reportedly lost control of his car while driving in his native Dominican Republic and died after driving off the road. His girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, also died in the accident. She was 18.
Taveras was a promising prospect with the Cardinals, making his major league debut this year with the team, hitting .239 with 22 RBIs in 80 games. Cardinals team GM John Mozeliak stated in the team's press release "I simply can't believe it. 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."
The Giants, who now lead the Royals 3-2 in the World Series, are familiar with Taveras. In his first game in the Majors, which was against the Giants, he homered; in the NL Championship this year, he hit another home run. In last night's Game 5, the Giants' Juan Perez dedicated his two-run double in the eigth to his friend. "He's a really close friend of mine. I know his family pretty good, I know his Mom, his Dad, his brothers, we were really close. It's a huge loss for all his family, his teammates and the people that care about him" said Perez.
MLB and it's fan expressed their condolences yesterday:
Makeshift #OscarTaveras shrine at Stan the Man statue, Busch Stadium. Live report at 8 am @kmoxnews pic.twitter.com/2LxK1SWYpg
— Brett A. Blume (@brettblumekmox) October 27, 2014
We mourn the passing of Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras. http://t.co/fCuSK3nB9n pic.twitter.com/0USk5vzaXF
— MLB (@MLB) October 27, 2014
