Cardinals prospect Tavares died in car crash

[ThomasTomasz]

Terrible news to hear, Tavares had lots of promise and was ready to hit the ground running for the 2015 season. Tough loss for his family, the Cardinals and baseball.

Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend were killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, the team and his agent Brian Mejia have confirmed. Taveras was 22.

"We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family," team chariman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. "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."

"I simply can't believe it," GM John Mozeliak said in a statement. "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."

"We are very saddened to learn of the news that a car accident has claimed the life of Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend in the Dominican Republic," MLB Players Association chief Tony Clark said in a statement. "Oscar had a very promising future, on and off the field, and this news is heartbreaking on many levels. It's never easy to lose a member of our fraternity, and to lose one so young is devastating news. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of both, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals organization and Oscar's many fans in the United States and the Dominican Republic."

"All of us throughout Major League Baseball are in mourning this evening, shocked by the heartbreaking news of the accident involving Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend in the Dominican Republic," commissioner Bud Selig said. "Oscar, a young member of the baseball family, was full of promise and at the dawn of a wonderful career in our game, evident in his game-tying home run against the Giants exactly two weeks ago.

"With heavy hearts, tonight we play Game 5 of the 2014 World Series in the memory of these two young people," Selig added. "On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of both individuals, as well as to Oscar's teammates and the entire Cardinals organization."

Taveras made his MLB debut with St. Louis this season and hit .239 in 80 games. He hit a game-tying pinch-hit solo home run in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the NLCS against the Giants two weeks ago Sunday.

Before the season, Baseball America ranked Taveras as the third-best prospect in baseball, saying he was an "All-Star in the making." Taveras was expected to compete for an outfield job in spring training.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...-killed-in-car-accident-in-dominican-republic