Giants Game 5 win comes with heavy heart, especially for Juan Perez - CBSSports.com

Rest in peace, Oscar Taveras. (USATSI)

Sad news. This kid had all the makings of a future super-star. Hearts and prayers go out to the taveras famil and the Cardinals family and fans. 

from CBSSports.com
Giants Game 5 win comes with heavy heart, especially for Juan Perez - CBSSports.com:

"It just breaks your heart," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's a shame that this has happened. The kid had a bright future ahead of him. He hit a big home run against us. It's a loss for his family, the Cardinals and baseball because this kid was a special talent. I know Juan Perez was good friends with him and I guess he heard during the game."

 This is true. A former winter ball teammate of Taveras, Juan Perez -- who has been friends with Taveras since 2009 -- learned of the news in the dugout during the game and began to cry. In fact, some Giants coaches said they found Perez in the clubhouse during the game in tears. He later entered the game and ended up with a two-RBI double late, giving the Giants what was an insurmountable 4-0 lead with the way Madison Bumgarner was dealing.

 After the game, Perez kept his composure when discussing the passing of his friend, though the sadness was evident.

 "It was tough," Perez said. "We were very close friends. My heart goes out to his family and to the Cardinals organization. I had a few innings to try and get over it and focus and do my job. I just had to try and put everything away and concentrate on the game."

And he did so with a little help from fellow Dominican (as was Taveras) Joaquin Arias.

"During the game, when I found out, at first I think I was thinking too much about it," recounted Perez. "Arias came over and said ‘stay strong, keep your mind strong and we can win this game.' "

'via Blog this'