ST. LOUIS, Mo.

Mike Matheny needed some time to figure out what to say. Like the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals, the manager was leveled by the sudden death of Oscar Taveras.

The Cardinals are grieving the loss of an active player for the third time in 12 years after the 22-year-old Taveras died Sunday in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. Matheny, general manager John Mozeliak and pitcher Carlos Martinez were part of a group from the organization with plans to attend a private burial service Tuesday in Taveras’ country.

Taveras was a teenager when he signed with St. Louis as an international free agent in 2008. He was regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects and homered in his major league debut May 31. He also had a big solo drive in the seventh inning of Game 2 in the NL Championship Series against San Francisco.

“He was someone that became an identity of our organization to some degree,” Mozeliak said in a conference call with St. Louis media before a visitation Monday night. “When you think about how much has been written about him and how much has been talked about him, he never truly got a chance to show it at the major league level.”

Mozeliak said he took a connecting flight from Miami with Taveras’ father.

“Clearly, he was shaken by these events,” the GM said.

“In my opinion, the word ‘love’ is the most misused, and misunderstood word in the English language. It is not popular for men to use this word, and even less popular for athletes,” Matheny said. “But, there is not a more accurate word for how a group of men share a deep and genuine concern for each other. We loved Oscar, and he loved us. That is what a team does, that is what a family does. You will be missed, Oscar.”