Rodrigo David Tapia Jr. – known to friends and family as Junior – centered his life around baseball. The 13-year-old played, watched and breathed the game, according to his older sister, Ana Lopez.
On April 27, a day before going to a San Diego Padres game for his father’s birthday, Junior was killed in a car crash investigators say was caused by his father’s 20-year-old boyfriend. younger sister, Alexander Tito Oroz.
Junior’s family buried him with some of his most prized possessions, including his XBox controller, his favorite bat, and a Padres jersey. In his hand was a baseball that his sister had signed by her favorite player – Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
“This is all the life Junior ever wanted,” Lopez said. “Baseball, baseball, baseball.”
Oroz is charged with driving under the influence when he crashed into another vehicle at an Escondido intersection. Lopez said the driver reportedly reached triple-digit speeds on city streets before crashing.
Oroz pleaded not guilty earlier this month in Vista Superior Court to involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving.
Following Junior’s death, the straight-A student was remembered by his family as a deeply religious person with an encyclopedic knowledge of his favorite team, the Padres.
“His favorite players of all time were Manny Machado and Tatis Jr. – Tatis Jr. specifically because it was close to his last name,” Lopez said.
Junior Tapia slides to second while playing his Little League in Escondido.
(Courtesy of Ana Gonzalez)
When he was younger, Junior didn’t seek attention. He was born prematurely, weighing 4 pounds, 5 ounces, and was adventurous, yet quiet and humble.
As he aged, Junior’s personality grew stronger, his sister said. He earned a 3.8 GPA at Quantum Academy in Escondido and devoted much of his social media to talking about his trust in God.
“He was always very shy at first, just a little bit, but once he got to know you, he would burst out with this big smile and make you laugh,” Lopez said. “He saw you as a person, for who you were, and he never judged anyone.”
Junior was at heart a student of the game he loved. He played as an outfielder for the Escondido National Little League and dreamed of going professional. He said if professional baseball didn’t work out, he would either want to become a Navy SEAL or join the sheriff’s department.
He and his grandmother watched every Padres pitch, rewound the greatest hits, then recorded what they saw together. He memorized athletes’ names, their playing styles and their statistics – and even knew when Tatis returned to play after an injury.
“Junior wrote on the calendar: ‘Tatis is coming back to baseball,’” Lopez said.
For all the love he had given the team, the Padres returned the favor. Not only did Tatis and Machado provide signed baseballs for Junior to be buried, but Tatis also provided a signed jersey.
“I put it right next to him on his hip with his very first Padres jersey,” Lopez said.
The same day he went to the game with his father, Junior also found out he was on his Little League all-star team.
In the month since his death, his family has also grappled with legal proceedings, paying close attention to what would happen to the driver accused of killing the teen. Junior’s other sister was also in the car when it crashed.
“My mother and family are heartbroken. Because my sister and brother told (Ortiz) to slow down, but he didn’t,” Lopez said.
“We’re just trying to see what we can do to get justice for my little brother,” she added.
A month later, their grandmother still watches baseball, but it doesn’t bring her the same joy, Lopez said.
“Sometimes she slips (and) says, ‘Junior, did you see that?'” Lopez said. “We are all lost…we don’t know how to live this normal life now without our baby. »
California Daily Newspapers
