The St. Louis Cardinals announced this weekend that they will wear a patch bearing the initials OT to memorialize Oscar Taveras, who died in an automobile accident in the Dominican Republic late last year along with his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo. The patch will not feature Taveras’s uniform number, 18, because Taveras’s friend Carlos Martinez will wear the number for the Cardinals in 2015 as an homage to Taveras.
Bill DeWitt Jr. announces #STLCards will honor the late Oscar Taveras wearing an OT sleeve patch in 2015. #OT18 pic.twitter.com/J3WPMuTwau
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) January 18, 2015
The Cardinals also announced plans to renovate a baseball field in Taveras’s hometown.
#STLCards will also renovate Oscar Taveras’ hometown field in Sosua, DR, making it a 1st-class facility honoring his legacy for generations.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) January 18, 2015
The announcement has generated controversy because Taveras was reportedly driving drunk, with a blood alcohol level five times the legal limit, and the accident took not only his own life, but the life of his 18-year-old girlfriend. The immediate reaction on social media seems split between those who applaud the Cardinals for honoring the life of a member of their team and those who feel the team should not recognize Taveras because of his role in the accident.
Oscar deserves to be honored by the Cardinals wearing an "OT" patch on their sleeve. It is a great way to memorialize him in STL. #goodjob
— Hannah Commins (@hrc_1994) January 19, 2015
Memorialize guy who killed his gf RT @dgoold: Cards jersey will feature a black patch withinitials "OT" on it to memorialize Oscar Taveras.”
— John (@JDaugherty105) January 18, 2015
https://twitter.com/WolfZick/status/556878756699471872
https://twitter.com/Hey_its_Don/status/556891089987055616
daily reminder oscar taveras was a murderer
— cheesy gordita crunc (@NPuntIntendedSP) January 18, 2015
I just saw the thing about the cardinals wearing an OT patch this year. Well I know I'll be getting one of those for sure.
— nobodys darling (@siriusam0ry) January 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/abuzzerio_/status/556553728896282625
It won’t be the first time the Cardinals commemorated a player killed in a drunk-driving accident. In 2007, they wore a 32 patch in honor of Josh Hancock, who died in a crash while driving drunk. Unlike Taveras, no one else died in Hancock’s accident.
In 2002, the San Diego Padres wore a 26 patch in honor of Mike Darr, who was killed while driving drunk prior to the season. As with Taveras’s accident, Darr’s misjudgment also took the life of a friend, Duane Johnson.
What say you, readers? Is it appropriate for the Cardinals to memorialize a promising player whose life was cut short, or is it irresponsible to recognize an individual whose tragic mistake cost two families their loved ones?