Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
The image of 22-year-old St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras’ game-tying pinch-hit home run in the 2014 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants was still fresh in the memories of baseball fans around the world. When news of his tragic death in a car accident (in his native home of the Dominican Republic) was reported exactly two weeks later, fans were shocked. Signed by the Cardinals for $145,000 as an undrafted free agent in November of 2008 when he was just 16-years-old, Taveras spent the next six years rising through the minor league system. He compiled a .321 batting average with a .519 slugging percentage while playing all three outfield positions from 2009 to 2014. Taveras burst on the big league scene knocking a towering home run for his first big league hit also against the Giants on May 31, 2014. The 2014 NLDS was not Taveras first taste of the post season, winning league championships with the Appalachian (Rookie) League Johnson City Cardinals in 2010 and the Midwest (single-A) League Quad Cities River Bandits in 2011.
This 2010 Appalachian League championship ring has the Johnson City (TN) Cardinals logo bird and the team’s JC initials set on top a ruby red gemstone which is surrounded by three dozen cubic zirconia gemstones. The words “Appy League” are engraved along the left side of the top of this size-12, 31-gram ring with “Champions” on the right. “Taveras” name and the St. Louis Cardinals’ birds on bat logo, and Taveras’ “#7” are carved into one shank, with “2010,” and the Cardinals “STL” logo on a baseball as well as Johnson City’s 46-24 record are on the opposite side. The ring’s interior band is engraved with “Ten Fe Y Sigue Batallardo” which means “have faith and keep fighting,” and serves as a symbolic reminder of what might have been. This lot is part of the Oscar Taveras collection and all consignor proceeds in excess of minimum bid will be donated directly to the Taveras family.