Rob Ramage addresses the St. Louis Cardinals

Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Rob Ramage addressed the entire St. Louis Cardinals team, staff, and front office in Jupiter, Florida, on Saturday.

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Ramage is the first of what is expected to be a series of guest lecturers to show that the Cardinals mean business when it comes to not having players or coaches drink and drive. Last October during the World Series, outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed in the Dominincan Republic as the result of a car accident due to drinking and driving. Taveras was driving with a blood alcohol limit that was way beyond the legal limit.

Ramage’s background:

"In December 2003, traveling back from a funeral, Ramage was in a collision in Canada that killed his best friend, former NHL player Keith Magnuson, and injured another driver. Magnuson was the passenger in Ramage’s car, and Ramage had been drinking."

Ramage was sentenced to four years but was released early on parole after serving ten months of his sentence.

Left fielder Matt Holliday was amongst those who told his thoughts to the media.

"“I don’t think they are, but if anybody had any thoughts about doing it, they would think twice now having heard that story,” Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday said. “I know the ramifications of drunk driving. Any time you hear a story like that it reinforces, particularly for young guys, how you’re one bad decision away from completely changing your life, someone else’s life, or destroying someone else’s life.”"

Holliday understands the message. Hopefully, others within the organization do so as well.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny also addressed the media saying that Ramage “wants to make an impact on these guys, nothing for himself.” Ramage, according to the Cardinals manager, “wants to help people and those are the kind of people we want around here.