Oscar Taveras' tragic death shakes baseball

by SB Nation

Last night, as fans focused on baseball's biggest stage, the tragic news aboutCardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, spread across the Internet. Driving together in their native Dominican Republic, the couple was involved in a car accident that left both of them dead. Details are sparse, but the central, most important point was undeniable: Baseball had lost one of its bright young lights, and two families lost their treasured children.

We didn't really ever get to know Oscar Taveras. I mean that in every sense. He was only 22, and had just 80 games in the majors under his belt, and in that brief time didn't hit like the player we knew he was destined to become. We, and by we I mean the vast majority of fans, never got to appreciate his talent or his personality. He simply had played too little and been in our lives for too short a time. For too many of us, he was a scouting report, a number on a prospect list, or a potential trade target. Of course Taveras was more than that, and it is so very sad that we will never get the chance to see that.

Here's what we do know about him. Taveras signed with the Cardinals for just $145,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2008 when he was just 16 years old. He rose steadily through the Cardinals system, putting up extremely impressive numbers despite consistently being young for his level. He won the MVP of the Double-A Southern League in 2011 by hitting .321/.380/.572 with 23 homers when he was just 20 years old. According to Baseball America, he was the third best prospect in the game before the 2014 season began. In June, with Matt Adams suffering an injury, Taveras was promoted to the majors. At the time, John Sickles reported that Taveras was, "the type of hitter who will win batting championships and become a frequent All-Star. Not bad for a $145,000 investment." He earned generous comparisons to a young Vladimir Guerrero for his aggressive approach at the plate and his ability to hit even bad balls hard.