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 It was Oct. 12, the top of the seventh inning in Game Two of the
National League Championship Series (NLCS) when Oscar Taveras hit
what would be his last major league home run and only post-season
homer - a line drive to right field that would bring the capacity
crowd at Busch Stadium to their feet.
The team had for years hyped Taveras as a top prospect with power
that might rival that of former Cardinal Albert Pujols, but his
major-league debut season was by all honest accounts a
disappointment.
So when Taveras drove a solo shot off Giants reliever Jean Machi to
tie Game Two at 3-3 with one of his trademark sweeping swings, fans
pumped their fists for the emergence of a hero whose arrival they
had long awaited.
It is a destiny Cardinals fans have been left to wonder and mourn
after Taveras was killed tragically on Sunday night in a car crash
while playing winter baseball in his native Dominican Republic.
Down 1-0 in the series and trailing 3-2 in Game Two Taveras entered
the contest as a pinch-hitter for Carlos Martinez and immediately
slammed a shot over the right field wall to spark a rally.
 Matt Adams would add a solo shot in the eighth and Kolten Wong a
dramatic walkoff homer in the ninth to give the Cardinals a
heart-stopping 5-4 victory.
It was the only game of the NLCS the Cardinals would win as the
Giants went on to dominate the best-of-seven series 4-1 and advance
to the World Series.
Still, the 22-year-old Taveras had left his mark.
This was the big game power hitter Cardinal Nation had heard so much
about but never seen.
He really did exist and the collective imagination boggled at the
contributions he might make to Cardinals lore.
Pujols was gone, but maybe St. Louis was developing another
Dominican baseball deity.
The Cardinals hit four solo home runs that night.
But even the sensational smash by Wong somehow seemed less
significant. Wong had been on a tear in the post-season and his
extra base hits almost seemed expected.
Taveras' long ball seemed to suggest the arrival of another young
powerhouse who might just tip the balance in favor of the Cardinals.
The fans wanted so badly to believe in Taveras and now they could.
Looking back one cannot help but wonder how Taveras felt that night,
and what he thought, as he sat at the interview table alongside his
teammates and a translator and answered questions. He had to know
his regular season disappointed and he must have felt great pride
and relief.
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It seemed at the time that Taveras was living not just a dream, but
the dream his considerable natural gifts made possible.
While Taveras appeared to be all about business, he could not
suppress the occasional smile that flashed across his young face as
he stoically accepted the role of hero the moment had thrust upon
him.
The players, including Taveras, described their hitting preparations
and hard work but Wong's response stood out. He offered a
philosophical explanation that hinged on what he called "the beauty
of baseball" and the adrenaline that comes with the post-season.
"Things you never expected to happen, happen," he said.
Of course, Wong's comments could just as easily be applied to life
as to baseball, and to tragic events as well as joyous ones.
The crack of Taveras's bat that night which had seemed to usher in a
new era in Cardinals baseball in reality marked the single greatest
moment of Taveras's career and perhaps his life.
As Taveras left the media room for what presumably was the last
time, he was so exuberant he actually jogged toward the door headed
to the clubhouse to celebrate with his teammates. It's a challenge
not to replay the scene.
He paused at the threshold to shake the hand of an eager onlooker,
simultaneously placing a hand on the man's arm.
I don't know what kind of relationship, if any, Taveras had with the
man at the door, but while other players offered him a quick shake,
there was an authenticity in Taveras's greeting.
A gesture that also ended up being a farewell.
(Adds dropped word in 22nd paragraph and fixes typo in final
paragraph)
(Editing by Steve Keating in Toronto.)
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