Yesterday, October 26, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras died in a car accident, along with his girlfriend in the Dominican Republic. ESPN was quick with the details. Taveras was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro at the time of the crash on a highway between the beaches of Sosua and Cabarete in Puerto Plata, about 130 miles north of the capital of Santo Domingo, said Col. Diego Pesqueira of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency. “He wasn’t carrying documents at the time of the accident, but his body was identified by family members,” Pesqueira said. National police spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete said he was told by the mayor of Sosua that Taveras lost control of his vehicle and went off the road. Taveras’ girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, 18, who was in the car with Taveras, also died in the accident. “I simply can’t believe it,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a release. “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.” As with most professional sports organizations, the MLB is a tight-knit family and several of its stars reacted emotionally to the news of Oscar Taveras’ death. He will always be remembered for hitting a home run at his first-ever at bat. At home. In the rain. See the bulk of the them in the gallery below. Rest in power. — Photo: MLB
