At 22-years-old, Oscar Taveras, the Dominican professional baseball player that just a few months ago homered in his first major league game for the St. Louis Cardinals and homered again in the playoffs, which was the Cardinals only win against the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series, died in a car crash in Dominican Republic.
Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, died in his native hometown Puerto Plata. Even though the cause of his death is unknown, Taveras’s car, a Chevrolet Camaro, crashed against a tree killing both passengers, according to police reports in Puerto Plata.
One of Taveras’s close friends, Juan Perez, heard the sad news before game 5 of the World Series. Taveras and Perez played together in a minor league in the Dominican Republic. “He’s a really close friend of mine,” said Perez according to Fox News. “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.”
The young Dominican for the Giants entered the game as a pinch hitter with his buddy still on his mind. Perez heard the sad news earlier that day and couldn’t shake off the sorrow of his buddy’s death. He wiped his tears away before heading to the plate in the sixth inning and provided a two-run double that helped the Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0.
“It took me probably three innings to get over it,” Perez said after dedicating the double to his friend, Taveras. “I knew I just had to regroup.”
Taveras’s funeral will be held in Puerto Plata where the general manager of the Cardinals John Mozeliak and team manager Mike Matheny are expected to attend.
