RIP Oscar Tavares

[clydepepper]

It can happen to anyone...but don't we all feel a little cheated when we lose someone with such promise?

[exitmusicgreen]

It can happen to anyone...but don't we all feel a little cheated when we lose someone with such promise?

Many, many condolences + outpourings in our Blowout community. Hats off.

[triwak]

Sad news.

[itjclarke]

Absolutely tragic.. the sky was the limit for him. Thoughts are with his family. RIP.

Apparently Juan Perez on the Giants was very good friends with him and prior to his triple tonight (just after hearing the news, dedicated the at bat to him), he dedicated the at bat to him.

[DerekMichael]

So awful.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and a young man in the Mets organization named Brian Cole was killed in a car cash.

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

[Rickyy]

So sad...looks like he was going to be a pretty good player for many years to come... condolences to the Tavares and the Cardinals Family...

Ricky Y

[the 'stache]

I'm absolutely heartbroken tonight. I'm a Brewers fan, but I can appreciate talent from any team. And I've been watching Oscar Taveras for three years. A few years ago, I signed up on MLB.tv for the first time, and I signed up on Milb.com the year before last, in large part, to watch Taveras play.

I bought this Bowman Chrome prospect auto the day after the product hit eBay. It was $100 well spent, I thought. I still thought that this afternoon, too.

http://net54baseball.com/picture.php?albumid=627&pictureid=15159

This guy was about as close to a sure thing as I've seen since Mike Trout. He didn't have Trout's speed, but he could hit like nobody's business.

Just two weeks ago, he was hitting a pinch hit, game-tying home run in game 2 of the NLCS.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wdwSWyt8tOg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Lots of people have said that Taveras was the next Albert Pujols. While much of the time, comparisons made to a young player coming up are unfair because of the incredible pressure that they come with, this is one time where the expectations were not unfair. Taveras had incredible bat speed, and a great eye. He did not set the world on fire in his brief stay in the Majors: .239 AVG, 3 HR, 22 RBI in 234 at bats. But Taveras was coming. The Cardinals were so sure of it that they traded away Allen Craig, a career .306 hitter, so right field would be open for Taveras in 2015.

Not even a month ago, I was joking with some fellow posters on a Brewers forum I frequent that Taveras was going to kill us for the next 15 years. Nobody took me to task for saying it, because they knew what I knew. It was never a matter of "if" with Oscar. It was a matter of "when". That classic swing, tailor made to send baseballs into the seats, was beautiful. Below is the video of his first Major League hit, a home run. Go to 1:04 in this video, and watch his swing in slow motion.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ghcyeYLDJbM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I've talked to some Cardinal fans tonight. They are numb. They were making plans for next season, and the talk revolved around Taveras. He was going to start. He was the next great one, playing for a franchise that has had more than their share of great ones. Now he is gone.

It doesn't matter if you are a fan of the Cardinals or not, or even if you are a fan of today's game. We all can appreciate the impact of this loss. This was a young man with his whole life ahead of him. He had worked so hard to get where he was, and tragically, he will never have that chance now. Taveras and his girlfriend both died in the car crash, and we are left to wonder what could have been.

My heart goes out to Oscar's family and friends, and Cardinal fans everywhere. On behalf of the Brewer nation, I wanted you guys to know you are not alone. We share your pain.

[KCRfan1]

Regardless of the talent level and potential, there were two lives lost in that car accident. Both were very young, Taveras who was 21 or 22 and an 18 year old. Both had lots of life left to live and that is what's so unfortunate.

[deadballfreaK]

I am a Cardinal fan so I am especially stunned I guess, but my sorrow goes beyond team loyalty. I was enjoying the WS like most of you when Rosenthal came on with the news. Ruined my evening. Turned over to football to try to get it off my mind. Didn't work of course. Then went to my DVR and pulled up his first HR in his first game. He was such a happy guy and was so excited about giving the ball to his mom. 22 years old, girlfriend 18, new tricked out Camaro. Seemed to have the world by the tail, but none of us ever do, do we?

My hobby the last couple of weeks has been creating fake 1964 Topps cards (my first year collecting) with colorization and computer tricks. I was intending to post some here. I immediately thought of the 1964 "In Memoriam" card of Ken Hubbs. Hubbs was a young star in the making for the Cubs and to this day I get sad looking at that card. I sat down and created a similar card for Oscar. I'll post it in a couple of days when I get time.

SAD!!

[Leon]

RIP Oscar....very sad.

[deadballfreaK]

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/fifty-years-later-ken-hubbs-memory-continues-to-glow-021314

[packs]

Awful news. It wasn't that long ago that Nick Adenhart was killed in an accident as well. Truly sad.

[ethicsprof]

so tragic.
my condolences to family,friends,fans

barry

[Rich Klein]

Car Crashes and young people are doubly horrific. A son of one of wife's co-workers (and she worked with him as well) was killed Saturday Night in a road rage incident in which he iin the wrong place wrong time.

Two teenaged drivers were going at high speeds on HWY 121 near where I live in Plano and not that from Leon either and one of them rear-ended this kid's car and sent him off the road (or something like that). He was not even involved in any of those shenangians.

About when my wife was telling me this and teling me not be my typical NY self for a nigh8t I read about Oscar, and later saw the photo of the car after the crash.

you know, you never do know. So enjoy our cards today -0- for as many of us have found out from seeing our friends leave --- tomorrow is never guaranteed

[granite75]

As a Boston fan, the first thing that came to my mind was Len Bias. So much promise, about to take a championship caliber team into its next era, and shockingly robbed of it all. Just terrible.

[deadballfreaK]

http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y520/kdmadden/64TAVERAS_zps3449db08.jpg (http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/kdmadden/media/64TAVERAS_zps3449db08.jpg.html)

[Matvoo]

RIP TAVERAS
WAS GOING TO PICK UP HIS AUTO 2 WEEKS AGO BUT DIDNT
Nice custom ken

[EvilKing00]

Aweful news, the kid had so much talent. Also his 18 year old girl friend passed away as well. Very sad

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Lost potential greatness both on and off the field. And, not even close to Trout :)

[the 'stache]

Lost potential greatness both on and off the field. And, not even close to Trout :)

Overall? No. Hitting potential? Absolutely.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Overall? No. Hitting potential? Absolutely.


Different hit tools but power wise could be close. His swing is absurdly quick. Left handed Sheff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[the 'stache]

Nice custom, Ken. Nice, but also heart-wrenching.

I've got Vista reinstalled on the desktop computer, so my color is right again. I might just have to break out the Wacom, and see what I can come up with in Photoshop. It's been a while since I've done anything.

[the 'stache]

Different hit tools but power wise could be close. His swing is absurdly quick. Left handed Sheff.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's a pretty good assessment. And I wasn't looking to be argumentative, Brent :) I'm sorry if I came off that way.

I am absolutely confident that this kid was going to be one of the very best hitters in the game. I thought he could be a 30 home run hitter, but I was more confident in his ability to hit for average than I was confident in his power hitting ability. So, when I say "only" 25 to 30 home runs, that says something about the kind of talent he had. The home runs were an afterthought. He was going to be an extra base hit machine. I wish minor league splits were better. I'd like some stats to back up what I'm saying. But Oscar could hit with power to all fields. And for a guy with such a live bat, he had good plate discipline. There wasn't a lot of swing and miss to his game. Even as a rookie in the Major Leagues, when he only hit .239, he only struck out in about 14% of his plate appearances. He hit .240 vs righties, and .238 vs lefties. And towards the end of the season, he was putting it together. After hitting .244 in August (22 for 90), he hit .295 in September and October (13 for 44). His OBP was up to .340.

I started watching him in 2011 when he was in class A ball at Quad Cities in Iowa. I want to say it was about halfway through that year. He'd go on to hit .386 that season. I saw him play 6 or 7 games. After that, I would watch whatever I could. If I couldn't watch the entire game, which was most of the time, I'd pull up the game, and skip to his at bats.

Taveras had a very long swing early, yet as a 19 year old, he was dominating kids that were 2 years older than he was. He hit .386, and Kolten Wong hit .335. He wasn't hitting the long ball yet, but he had a 1.028 OPS. 308 at bats, 27 doubles, 5 triples and 8 home runs. The next year he hit 23 home runs in 477 ABs. The swing was still long, but it looked to me like he's moved his hands into a slightly different position pre swing from last year. I think more than anything, the power came because he was maturing physically, and developing more natural loft in his swing. That's what made me really think this kid could be a power hitter. The great ones go up there, and drive the ball, but they don't go up there looking to hit the home run. Hank Aaron, for all the home runs he had, didn't have the majestic home runs that Mark McGwire did. Aaron didn't have the incredible loft. He hit a lot of line drive home runs. Taveras went up there looking to make solid contact, and he just drove the hell out of the ball. He used his entire body. His leg kick used to be a little higher. It looks like a hitting coach had him lower that just a little, too. Whatever they did, whatever he did on his own, and whatever just happened naturally, he had such a beautiful, fluid swing. He could hit the ball out on a rope, or he could hit the deep, soaring fly balls that Cardinal fans are used to seeing. I just loved his total offensive approach. Now, it looked to me like he was becoming a little less aggressive at the plate the closer he got to the Majors. He knew he could hit. He was working on developing the discipline needed to succeed. I thought he could have come up in 2013, and played at the Major League level as a starter. After hitting .386 in 2011, in 2012 he hit .321 at AA Springfield with a .953 OPS. 37 doubles, 7 triples, 23 home runs, 94 RBI in 477 ABs, and 10 stolen bases in 11 tries. In 2013 he hit .310. In 2014 he hit .318. In his minor league career (436 games), he hit .320 with an .892 OPS. His slash lines were impressive:

A .444/.584/1.028 in 78 games
AA .380/.572/.953 in 124 games
AAA .358/.485/.843 108 games

I think his AAA numbers would have been better with another half season. He moved through the system so quickly. He hit .321 at A ball, .310 at AA, and .318 at AAA. This wasn't some AAAA star that wasn't going to make it in the Majors. He was the real deal.

The Cardinals will now look to Stephen Piscotty, another talented outfielder. Piscotty is ranked the #51 prospect in baseball. He's a plus hitter with average, slightly above average power. A really good prospect, but not Taveras. I think Piscotty has star potential, but oddly enough, I liken him to Allen Craig, the player the Cardinals moved to make room for Taveras.

http://net54baseball.com/picture.php?albumid=627&pictureid=15326

[irishdenny]

So awful.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and a young man in the Mets organization named Brian Cole was killed in a car cash.

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Derek, I Remember Him Well...
I'm a Life Long Met Fan at Heart. I was born iN Astoria, NY.
When I pulled this Card I was Sooo Excited!

And Now Oscar... Blessings to the Family's... Always!

[deadballfreaK]

http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y520/kdmadden/hermanhill_zpsb9a3007d.jpg (http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/kdmadden/media/hermanhill_zpsb9a3007d.jpg.html)




I am reminded of the death of Herman Hill. Herman was supposed to be a can't miss guy. I saw him play many times when he was with the Evansville Triplets in 1970. He had the talent. Got a cup of coffee with the Twins in 1970, but didn't impress. The Twins traded him to the Cardinals that winter and he was to get a shot at the RF job. Hill had great speed and it was hoped that Lou Brock might be his mentor. The Cards sent him to play winter ball in Venezuela and he drowned there while swimming in the ocean. Ray Fosse and and a couple of teammates tried desperately to save him. Fosse nearly drowned himself. It was 5 days before his body washed ashore. I've often wondered what he might have done. :(

[JakeStahl'sGloveSHows]

What a sad story. The stats quoted in various posts above speak for themselves. My experience playing future seasons of OOTP was he projected to a top tier player.

A blow to the Cardinals organization as well.

Such an incredibly sad, untimely death. Thoughts to both his family and his Cardinals family.

[Lordstan]

"Tessie Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office in the Dominican Republic, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that toxicology reports showed Taveras had a blood-alcohol level five times the legal limit when*he lost control of his car Oct. 26 on a highway in Puerto Plata."

OMG. He was 5x the legal limit! It's a tragedy, but I have to ask when will people learn?

[calvindog]

I didn't even know it was possible to be conscious and have a Blood Alcohol Level that high. In death, he's a killer.

[GregMitch34]

So let's stop honoring him. Killed himself--and another. Could have been more.

[Lordstan]

According to the World Health Org, they say that the legal limit in the DR for BAC is .05 , so he was at .25 when he was driving. Not sure how he could even be standing.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

The highest BAC that I have seen is .32. That guy couldn't stand and kept passing out.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

According to the World Health Org, they say that the legal limit in the DR for BAC is .05 , so he was at .25 when he was driving. Not sure how he could even be standing.
Some alcoholics can function pretty normally with high BAC.

[Lordstan]

Some alcoholics can function pretty normally with high BAC.

As a family physician, I am aware that alcoholics and users of other drugs can tolerate high doses of the specific drug in question, while not appearing impaired and appearing to function mostly normally, but that is not the case here. A person only using alcohol socially or occasionally would have a hard time, IMO, tolerating a BAC that high while still being able to function.

To this point, Taveras has not been painted as or rumored to be, at least not that I had read, an "alcoholic" or even a hard party goer. In today's age of internet news, etc, nothing seems to be hidden. It's hard to believe that a celebrity would be have that much of an alcohol problem, without it being made public.

So, if he didn't have a chronic problem, I find it surprising that with a BAC of 0.25 he could have walked to his car, found his keys, unlocked the door, start the car, and then start to drive.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Maybe he was drinking as he was driving, hit a certain level and passed out.

[drcy]

I knew a lovely, nice, petite young woman who told me she had once tested .37. That was the highest I'd ever heard of and I didn't even realize someone could get a reading that high. Though she also told me she went through extensive rehab.

[packs]

If you are roughly 200 pounds you'd have to have roughly 10 drinks in an hour to register a 0.25.

[drcy]

That he drove his car off the road is a sign of something. Even most impaired drivers can stay on the road.

[Runscott]

The ESPN sportswoman-caster just called the Bears the 'Berries', then 30 seconds later said 'Shake off' when she meant 'Shake-up'. She quickly corrected herself in both case, but I can't wait until after the commercial break. Hoping she has a couple of drinks during that period so that we can hear even more interesting things.

Drunks might be able to stay on the road, but anyone who falls asleep can drive off the road and crash.

[calvindog]

According to the World Health Org, they say that the legal limit in the DR for BAC is .05 , so he was at .25 when he was driving. Not sure how he could even be standing.

If it was only .25 it's not so high that he couldn't drive. Once you hit around .35 you're pretty much out on your feet. At .40 you're in coma territory.

[Peter_Spaeth]

What's the limit in most US jurisdictions?

[Deertick]

It used to be common to have a .10 limit. Now all states are at .08 ( with the possible exception of MI)

If you are 200lbs. you would have to have 13.5 drinks in an hour to have a .25 BAC

[Lordstan]

If it was only .25 it's not so high that he couldn't drive. Once you hit around .35 you're pretty much out on your feet. At .40 you're in coma territory.

I guess it's possible.

This is cut and pasted from the university of ND website, but many other sites have similar tables.

BAC level Generalized Dose Specific Effects:

BAC Level Effect of Alcohol
BAC = 0.02 to 0.03% No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent.

BAC = 0.04 to 0.06% Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, and sensation of warmth. Euphoria. Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of caution.

BAC = 0.07 to 0.09% Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Reduced judgment and self-control. Impaired reasoning, memory, and sense of cautiousness.
0.08 BAC is legally impaired and it is illegal to drive at this level.

BAC = 0.10-0.125% Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time, and hearing will be impaired.

BAC = 0.13-0.15% Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reducing and dysphoria is beginning to appear.

BAC = 0.16-0.20% Dysphoria predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a “sloppy drunk.” May vomit.
The average BAC among fatally injured drivers is 0.17, which is also the average BAC nationally for persons arrested for drunk driving.

BAC = 0.25% Needs assistance in walking; total mental confusion. Dysphoria with nausea and some vomiting. Death has occurred at this level, and it is considered a medical emergency.

BAC = 0.30% Loss of consciousness.

BAC = 0.40% + Onset of coma, possible death due to respiratory arrest.

This is from Wikipedia
0.20–0.29
Stupor
Loss of understanding
Impaired sensations
Possibility of falling unconscious
Severe motor impairment
Loss of consciousness
Memory blackout

From Lifeloc
0.25 All mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired. Near total loss of motor function control. Increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falls or other accidents.

[yankees23]

Looks like his BAC was .287. Yikes...

http://www.ibtimes.com/oscar-taveras-had-287-bac-during-fatal-car-accident-nearly-6-times-dominican-1723279

[Stonepony]

0.25 is not extraordinary at all. Took care of a 0.60 in the ER last night ( it was his birthday and he was clearly a chronic drinker) . Everybody is different. Put an 18 yo on the ventilator last night for a couple hrs because he was stuperous at 0.125. My guess is that as many of you exit the hotel bar at the National after a late night round table ... You'd blow a 0.2 . It's all a matter of developed tolerance. Tragic in this case... which is pretty much the outcome when you drink and drive

[frankbmd]

It used to be common to have a .10 limit. Now all states are at .08 ( with the possible exception of MI)

If you are 200lbs. you would have to have 13.5 drinks in an hour to have a .25 BAC

To his credit, if I had 13.5 drinks in a hour, I would be on my arse without the girl.:eek: