Cardinals dedicating season to Taveras: 'Hopefully we can do this for Oscar'

The St. Louis Cardinals are playing with heavy hearts this season. 

As the team took the field at Busch Stadium on Monday for the first time this year, the moment also marked the first time the Cardinals were at home without Oscar Taveras, who died in October following a car accident. 

Donning commemorative patches on their jerseys, the members of the 2015 Cardinals stood united along the first base line and watched a video tribute to their fallen teammate.   

"It's as choked up as I've ever been on a baseball field," pitcher Adam Wainwright told Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports. "I wasn't expecting to do that. It's like it doesn't seem real until it is."

"I got teary-eyed watching that," reliever Randy Choate said. "It was like when I first heard the news. I just broke down. It wasn't like we were that close or anything, but he was a teammate.

"You remember him hitting a homer in his first at-bat. You remember that homer against the Giants. You remember everything about him.

"I mean, he was just 22. He was a kid."

Taveras, who was one of the top prospects in baseball at the time of his death, appeared in 80 games for the Cardinals in 2014, hitting .239/.278/.312 with three home runs. 

The Cardinals are hoping for something special this season, and they're hoping to do it for Taveras. 

"He was taken away from us way too soon," first baseman Matt Adams said. "Now, we have to deal with it. We have to move on.

"I think this team will do something special this year and dedicate this season to him. Hopefully we can do this for Oscar."