[20] The Cardinals invited him to spring training. His hat was turned in for display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. sas.cmd.push(function() { Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time. He earned PoW honors for the week ending June 10 – which included the five-hit game – after batting .500 (14–28) with two home runs, four RBI and 11 runs scored. Also similar to Guerrero, he possessed a strong and accurate throwing arm. List of members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (chronological), List of Major League Baseball Wild Card Game broadcasters, List of Major League Baseball All-Star Game broadcasters, Flamer aka the person who faked his death, Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Year, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Top prospect has Canadian passport to WBC, St. Louis Cardinals star prospect Oscar Taveras tearing it up in Triple-A, Oscar Taveras Minor League statistics and history, Oscar Taveras profile, Bio: 2011 highlights, Baseball America St. Louis Cardinals top 2012 prospects, Oscar Taveras profile, Bio: 2012 highlights, Taveras and Maness win Cardinals Minor League honors, Baseball America 2013 Cardinals top prospects, Cards recognize Minor League Players of Year, Team Canada wants Oscar Taveras (on a technicality), Oscar Taveras profile, Bio: 2013 highlights, Top prospect Taveras to have season-ending surgery, Matheny challenges Taveras to keep pushing, Cardinals calling up top prospect Taveras: Outfielder batting .325 at Triple-A; Adams goes on DL with tight calf, Cardinals set to promote 'crown jewel' of farm system in Oscar Taveras, Taveras time: Cardinals finally promote top OF prospect, Cards rookie Taveras killed in car accident, All the Oscar Taveras news that's fit to print, Patience rewarded: Taveras makes MLB debut, homers, Taveras announces arrival, impacts Cards' win, St. Louis Cardinals promote Oscar Taveras, place Matt Adams on the DL, Cardinals activate Matt Adams, send Oscar Taveras to minors, The St. Louis Cardinals should demote Oscar Taveras, Cardinals' Oscar Taveras will make bigger 2014 impact than Tigers' Nick Castellanos, Cardinals Oscar Taveras set to be the next big thing in baseball, How did Oscar Taveras die? [15] Prior to the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Taveras' agent was approached about him playing for the Canadian national baseball team. Previous Post: Exit Interview: Eric Fornataro. [4] Through 2013, Taveras' career minor league batting average was .320 with 45 home runs and 275 RBIs in 374 games. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! He was the first Cardinals minor leaguer to win the MWL batting title since Brendan Ryan in 2004.[6]. I’ve stared at my four-month-old daughter asleep in her crib a little longer. I did not know Oscar or Edilia, I do not know their son Oscar, I do not know their families or friends. [5], Taveras earned another promotion to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League (MWL) in 2011 and spent the entire season there. On June 4, he achieved his first career five-hit game against Corpus Christi with four runs scored. We stumbled and bumbled through it, it was cathartic in a way, if premature for truly having a reaction other than “this sucks.” Shock, disbelief, wanting to wish it away – that was all there, but no tears. [10][11], Further, Taveras led all Cardinals minor leaguers in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, SLG and on-base plus slugging (.953), while also finishing in the top five in batting average and runs. 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. In … [25] He left behind a one-year-old son, Oscar Yadier Taveras. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. [4] An aggressive hitter, Taveras maintains control with his smooth swing. From May 11 to June 11, he was out of action due to a hamstring injury. I take comfort in the hope that he grows up to share that wide, glowing smile of his father. We loved Oscar, and he loved us. Further, he earned two MWL Player of the Week (PoW) awards. Because of his bat speed and the wide range of pitch locations of which he could hit, Taveras successfully unraveled what are termed as "pitcher's pitches," which helped contribute to his high batting average. [16] The Cardinals promoted him to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League. He began taking interest in baseball early in life. However, on October 26, 2014, he died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic following the playoffs. [8] The Cardinals assigned him to play for the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League. [27] In 209 plate appearances, he walked just 14 times, but also struck out just 25 for a 12.1% strikeout rate. sas.cmd = sas.cmd || []; The accident occurred at 7:40 PM ET, just before the start of Game 5 of the 2014 World Se… ,{ id: 71428 } [32] Taveras finished the 2014 season with a batting average of .239 in the majors. One hit was a home run that tied the score in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Giants, the only game the Cardinals won in the series. In , Taveras will earn a base salary of , a signing bonus of , a roster bonus of , a signing bonus of , a restructure bonus of , a workout bonus of and a incentive bonus of , while carrying a total salary of and a dead cap value of . On October 26, 2014, Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelos, age 18, died in a car accident while driving a Chevrolet Camaro[35][36] in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic,[37][38] after his car ran off the road and hit a tree. Skip to main content. Prospect Preacher Pitchers Hit Eighth Oscar and Edilia’s one year old son, Oscar Yadier Taveras, stopped me in my tracks. In Baseball America's "Best Tools" survey, he was rated the "Best Hitter for Average" in the Cardinals organization. David E. Klutho TK2 ) Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images [24], Making his MLB debut at Busch Stadium on the afternoon of Saturday, May 31, Taveras flied out in his first at bat. Over six minor league seasons, he batted .321 with a .519 slugging percentage. Taveras lived in Montreal from ages 12 to 16, obtaining Canadian citizenship. He started in right field and batted third, collecting one hit in three at-bats. pageId: 1024803, [26] Taveras was held hitless in consecutive games just once. Godspeed, Oscar Yadier. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. ,{ id: 71427 } A parent should never have to bury their child. The first was for the week of July 17, after batting .600 (15 hits in 25 at bats) with five multi-hit games, 10 runs scored and five RBI. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. St. Louis Cardinals Oscar Taveras victorious with Yadier Molina in clubhouse after winning game and series vs Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Many of the mourners wore jerseys with "El Fenómeno" printed on their backs. I do know that no parent should have to bury a child, and no child should lose both of their parents in such tragic manner, especially while still clinging to the innocence of being a young child. }); I’m the best,’” recounted the father. His contact rate of 92.3% on pitches outside of the strike zone surpassed the MLB average of 65.7% for all non-pitchers. I take comfort in the video he will be able to watch of his father achieving his life’s dreams, even in such a short life, and the stories that Cardinal fans will be willing to tell him for all of his life. Taveras logged 43 multi-hit games, including 12 three-hit games, five four-hit games and one five-hit game. Three days from now, in fact, we will pass the fifth anniversary of the young outfielder making a terrible decision and paying the worst price anyone can. Avrelos died of injuries to the head and chest. Baseball America named him the Cardinals' third-best prospect prior to the 2012 season[7] and ranked him 74th in all of baseball. Taveras was named the Texas League Player of the Year. But I can say with relative confidence – and several years experience now – once that protective parental instinct kicks in, something like this hits deeper. [1] At that point, he had been batting .325 with a .373 OBP and a .524 SLG at Memphis. Biography Outfielder who all made his main league debut using the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 after getting perhaps one of the most highly-touted minimal league potential clients in football. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.[25]. siteId: 275946, Cardinals Announce Revised 2021 Spring Training Schedule, Cardinals Set to Open 2021 Spring Training. He played in just 15 games after that for the season and in 46 total. … "[1], On November 11, it was confirmed that Taveras was legally intoxicated at the time of his crash, with a blood alcohol level five times the legal limit.[45]. Mostly, I take comfort in knowing that Oscar Yadier has two new angels watching over him. It also started to rain, immediately forcing a 47-minute delay. Oscar Francisco Taveras (June 19, 1992 - October 26, 2014) was a Dominican-Canadian professional baseball outfielder who played one season for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). [17] The Cardinals added Taveras to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. Do you know that it’s been almost five years since Oscar Taveras died? He was batting .318 with a .502 SLG at Memphis. [23][24][25] He became the first from Sosúa to reach the major leagues. Nov 7, 2014 - In honor and memory of a life ended too soon. However, Taveras worked to increased his abilities in the outfield. [10] He played another 39 games in the after-season Dominican Professional Baseball League for the Águilas Cibaeñas. ], Rest in peace Oscar and Edilia. His final tweet was “Thanks for all the fan support!” on October 13. That is what a team does, that is what a family does. [9] He was named the Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Year. In nine playoff games, he hit .235 with four doubles and two RBI as Springfield won the Texas League championship. Taveras won his second organizational Player of the Month award of 2012 – and third of his career – for June after totaling a .347 average (34–98), six HR and 19 RBI. That’s the differentiating factor of grief and mourning, it is obviously about those lost, but inherently it is also deeply personal to the person grieving, no? He batted .346 (47 of 136) with eight HR and 72 RBI with runners in scoring position (RISP) and .321 with RISP and two outs, including 17 RBI. His combination of strong, quick hands and excellent hand–eye coordination allowed him to assert considerable bat control to make constant, square contact with the incoming pitch. While sliding into second base in a May 12 game, his ankle caught and pronated awkwardly on the bag, resulting in a high-ankle sprain. Flowers and other mementos are part of a makeshift memorial to St. Louis Cardinals' Oscar Taveras outside Busch Stadium Monday, Oct. 27, 2014, in St. Louis. [4] He was actually 31 plate appearances short of qualifying; however, his adjusted batting average after adding the hitless at-bats still gave him the title. [19], Beginning in the 2014 season, MLB.com ranked Taveras as the second-best prospect in all of MLB, behind only Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins organization. That week, he also achieved three three-hit games and two four-hit games. Dec 11, 2014 - Yadi. sas.call("onecall", { After coming off the bench in the August 28 game against Burlington, he went 3-for-3 with a home run and missed hitting for the cycle by a double. 18 as a permanent tribute to his best friend started to throw his warmup pitches in the bullpen. He appeared on the postseason roster for the Cardinals, playing exclusively as a pinch hitter, and collected three hits and two runs scored in seven total at bats. During those same 10 games, he fashioned two three-hit games and one four-hit outing. I chatted with Daniel on the Gateway to Baseball Heaven podcast Sunday night, mere minutes after the world was learning that Oscar and Edilia were gone. Said teammate Carlos Martínez, "He was like Superman here. Learn how your comment data is processed. Taveras suffered multiple injuries and was pronounced dead while receiving care at Sosúa Cabarete Medical Center. He was the hope. Baseball Geek in Galveston Afterwards, he returned to the Dominican Republic; had he stayed in Canada, he would have entered the draft after high school. sas.setup({ networkid: 3265, domain: "//www15.smartadserver.com", async: true }); [2], The St. Louis Cardinals signed Taveras as an international amateur free agent on November 25, 2008 for $145,000. Sep 28, 2020 - Explore Jim Wigton's board "Oscar Taveras" on Pinterest. Killing yourself by your own stupidity is a tragedy; killing someone … [34] Earlier in his professional career, he gained a reputation for concentrating too heavily on hitting at the expense of his fielding. In his 124 total games, he played 93 in center field, 15 in right and one in left. [21], On May 30, 2014, the Cardinals called Taveras up to their MLB roster[22] in one of the most anticipated promotions in all MLB. "I was asked (Sunday) night to give some words regarding the tragic death of Oscar Taveras, but I just simply couldn't," Mike Matheny said