St. Louis Cardinals discuss Oscar Taveras at Team Meeting

The St. Louis Cardinals held a forty-minute team meeting to discuss the tragic passing of Oscar Taveras and what it means for the club going forward.

More from St Louis Cardinals News

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Here is Willson Contreras’ first message for St. Louis fans
• How do the St. Louis Cardinals stack up with Willson Contreras?
• Cardinals: The insane asking price the Athletics had for Sean Murphy
• St. Louis Cardinals: Ask me anything with Josh Jacobs – 12/8

According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Bernie Miklasz, principal owner Bill DeWitt Jr., general manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny presided over the meeting. After Oscar’s tragic death, this was a meeting that was bound to happen. Things had to be said.

According to Bernie, the team’s management “wanted to make sure that the Cardinals understood the importance of living responsibly, making smart choices, and giving yourself the opportunity to maximize your talent.” It’s no surprise to see Matheny wanting to get that point across after the release of his memoir, The Matheny Manifesto, earlier this month. Of course, the team already knew this because of their fallen teammate missing in the clubhouse.

"“I think we’ve all spent a lot of time thinking about a lot of different things, and this was a great opportunity to speak to the club for the first time,” Matheny said. “There were some thoughts I wanted to get across, and I’m anxious to continue those conversations.”"

Here’s to hoping his message got through to everybody.

"“I’ll just say this. It needed to be said,” second baseman Kolten Wong said. “It was something that definitely needed to be addressed and Mike couldn’t have said it any better.”"

Wong played in the Minor Leagues with Taveras.

It’s not surprising to see that the St. Louis Cardinals are educating their players at every level about the dangers of drinking and driving. This is something that really should have been instituted in April 2007 following the tragic death of Josh Hancock in a car accident. Not only are they educating players but they are bringing in a car service in order to get players home, no questions asked. Another educational program is being set up by the club in the Dominican Republic.

A moment of silence, appropriately, was held at the start of the meeting for Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo.

More from Redbird Rants

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• What’s next for the St. Louis Cardinals after Contreras signing?
• Report: Cardinals Emerge As Mystery Team for Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Trade targets after signing Willson Contreras
• Reflecting on the 2013 Cardinals’ top 30 prospects