I have never been a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Sure, I’d root for them when my teams didn’t make the post-season, but they were never MY team. I would keep a tab on their players, mostly so I could talk about them and not sound stupid. I’ve never been a fan of the Red Birds. But the death of 22 year old Oscar Taveras is hitting me really hard.
Maybe it’s because I am the same age as him. Maybe it is because I just saw him crush a monster homerun two weeks ago in the NLCS, tying the game against the Giants. Maybe it is because I know how talented he was. Maybe it’s hitting me so hard because I just lost my grandfather. Whatever the reason, his death is hitting me hard.
Wins and losses determine if a team is successful. If you win the last game of the season, you go down in history. But what does it matter in the long run? Life is so short to get caught up in wins and losses. Go hug our loved ones, or if you can’t, give them a call. Life is too short to focus on only wins and losses. When tragedies like this happen, we are reminded that there are things bigger and more important than titles.
I hope you’re hitting homeruns with your girlfriend in Heavan, Oscar. Go impress all of the other fallen baseball players! Rest in peace, kid. God bless you.
Here is his last homerun, a mammoth when it counted the most. I am so glad he got to have this moment.
http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v36800103/nlcs-gm2-taveras-hits-pinchhit-gametying-home-run/?c_id=mlb
She Steals Second 