The St. Louis Cardinals announced that the team will wear patches on its jerseys in 2015 to honor Oscar Taveras.
The patches will read "OT" to honor the late outfielder who died this offseason at the age of 22 in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic.
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, 2015The patches will not feature the No. 18 the young slugger wore for the Cardinals, as pitcher Carlos Martinez has decided to wear the number to honor Taveras.
In addition to the patch, the team announced that it will renovate and rename a field in honor of Taveras in his hometown of Sosua, Dominican Republic.
"[It will] give the young kids down there a chance to dream like Oscar did of someday playing in the big leagues and getting their start on that field," Cardinals principal owner Bill DeWitt said Sunday. "There was so much outreach and a tremendous following for Oscar down there. I think this will be a nice symbol of what he meant to that area, and I think it's the appropriate place to do it."
