Oscar Taveras facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oscar Taveras
Taveras with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014
Right fielder
Born: (1992-06-19)June 19, 1992 Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Died: October 26, 2014(2014-10-26) (aged 22) Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Batted: Left Threw: Left
debut
May 31, 2014, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last appearance
September 28, 2014, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average	.239
Home runs	3
Runs batted in	22
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (2014)

Oscar Francisco Taveras (born June 19, 1992 – died October 26, 2014) was a talented baseball player from the Dominican Republic and Canada. He played as an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball (MLB) for one season.

People in the Dominican Republic called him "El Fenómeno" (which means "The Phenomenon" in Spanish) because he was so good. The Cardinals signed him when he was 16 years old in 2008, and he made his MLB debut in 2014. In six seasons playing in the minor leagues, he had a great average of .321. He played in all three outfield spots, but mostly in center field.

Oscar Taveras was known for his amazing batting skills and was considered one of the top five minor league players in 2013 and 2014. Many compared him to famous baseball player Vladimir Guerrero because he could hit pitches really well, even if they were outside the strike zone. He also had a strong and accurate throwing arm. Taveras won many awards and batting titles in the minor leagues, including hitting .386 in 2011. In 2012, he was named the Texas League Player of the Year.

On May 31, 2014, Taveras hit a home run in his very first major league game. He finished the season hitting .239 in 80 games, mostly playing right field. He also hit an important home run in the playoffs during the 2014 National League Championship Series. Sadly, on October 26, 2014, he died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic, shortly after the Cardinals were out of the playoffs.

Early Life and Baseball Dreams

Oscar Taveras was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and grew up in a town called Sosúa. He loved baseball from a very young age. His father, Francisco Taveras, said that when Oscar was about five, he started calling himself "El Fenómeno" (The Phenomenon). He would tell his dad, "I’m going to make you the happiest dad in the world. I want to be a star. I want to be a major leaguer. I’m the phenomenon. I’m the best."

Oscar's father also played baseball in the minor leagues for the Milwaukee Brewers. Oscar lived in Montreal, Canada, from age 12 to 16 and became a Canadian citizen. After that, he went back to the Dominican Republic to continue his baseball career.

Professional Baseball Journey

Starting in the Minor Leagues (2009–2011)

Taveras batting for the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2011

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Oscar Taveras on November 25, 2008, when he was 16. They paid him $145,000. He started playing for the Dominican Summer League Cardinals in 2009. Even though he only hit .265 that year, he was promoted to the Johnson City Cardinals in 2010. There, his talent really shined, as he hit .322 with eight home runs and 43 runs batted in (RBI) in 53 games.

In 2011, Taveras moved up again to the Quad Cities River Bandits in the Midwest League. He missed a month due to a leg injury, but he still played very well. He had 33 games where he got multiple hits. He also won two Midwest League Player of the Week awards. In one week, he hit .600, getting 15 hits in 25 tries.

For the whole 2011 season, Taveras hit an amazing .386 with a .444 on-base percentage (OBP) and a .584 slugging percentage (SLG). He also hit eight home runs and had 62 RBI in 78 games. He won the Midwest League batting title, which means he had the highest batting average in the league. He was the first Cardinals minor league player to win this title since 2004.

Playing for Springfield and Memphis (2012–2014)

After his great 2011 season, people outside the Cardinals team started to notice Taveras. Baseball America magazine called him the Cardinals' third-best prospect in 2012. The Cardinals sent him to play for the Springfield Cardinals in the Texas League. He played 124 games there.

Taveras won two Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month awards in 2012. In April, he hit .340 with six home runs and 21 RBI. In June, he hit .347 with six home runs and 19 RBI. He even had a game where he got five hits against Corpus Christi. He was chosen for the Texas League All-Star team and was named the Most Valuable Player of that game. He also played in the All-Star Futures Game for the World team.

Taveras ended the 2012 season with 23 home runs, 94 RBI, and a league-leading .321 batting average. This was his second minor league batting title. He also led the Texas League in extra base hits (67) and doubles (37). He was named the Texas League Player of the Year and the Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Year. He also played in the Dominican Professional Baseball League and was named Rookie of the Year there.

Taveras batting for the Memphis Redbirds in 2013

Before the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Taveras as the Cardinals' best prospect and the third-best prospect in all of baseball. MLB.com also ranked him as the number-one prospect for the Cardinals and number three overall. The Cardinals promoted him to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

However, he got a high-ankle sprain in May 2013 while sliding into second base. This injury limited him to playing only 46 games that season. He had surgery in August to fix the sprain, which ended his season early. Even with the injury, he still hit .306 with 12 doubles, five home runs, and 32 RBI. This was his fourth straight season hitting over .300. The Cardinals added Taveras to their main 40-man roster in November 2013.

Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (2014)

At the start of the 2014 season, MLB.com ranked Taveras as the second-best prospect in all of MLB. He was invited to spring training with the Cardinals. Although his ankle was supposed to be healed, he was still careful with it. Then, he got a hamstring injury, which limited his playing time. The Cardinals sent him back to the minor league camp in March.

Taveras playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014

On May 30, 2014, the Cardinals called Taveras up to their MLB team. This was a very exciting moment for many baseball fans. He was the first person from his hometown of Sosúa to reach the major leagues. At that time, he was hitting .325 in Memphis.

Oscar Taveras made his MLB debut on May 31, 2014, at Busch Stadium against the San Francisco Giants. In his first time at bat, he flew out. But in his very next turn, he hit his first home run! It traveled 418 feet. He became the youngest player to hit a home run in his first major league game for the Cardinals since 1936. His home run ended up being the winning run, and the Cardinals won the game 2–0.

The next day, June 1, Taveras got his first MLB single. On June 19, his 22nd birthday, the Cardinals sent him back to Memphis. He had been hitting .189 in the major leagues. However, he showed that he could make contact with MLB pitches very well. His contact rate on pitches outside the strike zone was much higher than average.

The Cardinals called Taveras back up to the major leagues on June 30. He was hitting .318 in Memphis. To give him more chances to play, the Cardinals traded another player, Allen Craig, to the Boston Red Sox on July 31. On September 7, Taveras had his first game with three hits against the Milwaukee Brewers. He finished the 2014 season with a batting average of .239 in 80 major league games.

He was on the Cardinals' team for the playoffs. He mostly played as a pinch hitter. In the playoffs, he got three hits and scored two runs. One of his hits was a home run that tied the score in Game 2 of the 2014 National League Championship Series against the Giants. This was the only game the Cardinals won in that series, and it turned out to be the last hit of his career. His last message on Twitter was "Thanks for all the fan support!" on October 13.

Baseball Skills

Oscar Taveras was often compared to Vladimir Guerrero, another great hitter from the Dominican Republic. One of Taveras's best skills was his ability to hit pitches that were outside the strike zone, just like Guerrero. He had quick bat speed and could hit pitches in many different locations, which helped him get a high batting average. Even though he was an aggressive hitter, he had a smooth swing and stayed in control.

He had a wide batting stance and would shift his weight to his back leg before hitting the ball with a fast, powerful swing. His strong, quick hands and excellent hand-eye coordination allowed him to make good contact with the ball. He could hit the ball to all parts of the field, and experts believed he could hit 25 to 30 home runs in his best years. He was also praised for how well he prepared for games. By 2013, Taveras's minor league batting average was .320.

While his defense wasn't as famous as his hitting, Taveras was good at running routes and had solid instincts in the outfield. Early in his career, he focused more on hitting than fielding. However, he worked hard to improve his defense. He had a strong throwing arm, which made him a good fit for playing in right field. The Cardinals also thought he had the skills to be a good center fielder.

His Passing and Legacy

On October 26, 2014, Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, both died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. His car went off the road and hit a tree. The accident happened just before Game 5 of the 2014 World Series.

During Game 6 of the World Series, a moment of silence was held to remember Oscar Taveras and Edilia Arvelo.

More than 5,000 people attended Taveras's funeral in Sosúa. Many people wore jerseys with "El Fenómeno" printed on them. His teammate Carlos Martínez said, "He was like Superman here. He was here to uplift kids and put the town on the map. He was the hope." Martínez asked to change his uniform number from 44 to 18 (Taveras's number) to honor his friend. The team agreed. Oscar Taveras left behind a one-year-old son, Oscar Yadier Taveras.

In January 2015, the Cardinals announced they would renovate a baseball field in Sosúa in Taveras's honor. The team also wore black circular patches with "OT" (Taveras's initials) on their jerseys to remember him. A large sticker in his memory was placed in the home team bullpen at Busch Stadium, alongside those for other Cardinals players who had passed away.

Awards and Honors

See also

In Spanish: Oscar Taveras para niños

• List of baseball players who died during their careers
• List of people from the Dominican Republic