Fernandez dies in boating accident
that this boat knows the area. We just can’t answer why this happened.”
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was out of town but planned to fly to Miami.
“Sadly, the brightest lights are often the ones that extinguish the fastest,” Loria said in a statement. “Jose left us far too soon, but his memory will endure in all of us. At this difficult time, our prayers are with his mother, grandmother, family and friends.”
Fernandez was a two-time All- Star who went 38-17 in his four seasons with the Marlins, winning the NL’s Rookie of the Year award in 2013. The native of Santa Clara, Cuba, became a U.S. citizen last year and was enormously popular in Miami thanks to his backstory, success and exuberant flair.
He tried to defect from Cuba at least three times — landing in jail after one of those unsuccessful tries — before eventually getting to the U.S. and going to high school in Tampa, Florida. The Marlins drafted him in 2011 and Fernandez was in the majors two years later.
The New York Mets, in the thick of a playoff chase, are scheduled to play in Miami on Monday. Fernandez’s debut game in 2013 was against the Mets — and he was scheduled to start against them Monday.
The game Monday will be played as scheduled, the Marlins said.
“Deep in our hearts there is a lot of pain,” third baseman Martin Prado said. “Somehow we’ve got to overcome that.”
Video boards at Marlins Park on Sunday morning showed a large “16” — Fernandez’s uniform number — over his name. The number was also painted on the mound, and flowers rested on the rubber. A few dozen fans milled about in the ballpark plaza, some wearing Fernandez jerseys.
Fernandez posted a photo of his girlfriend sporting a “baby bump” on his Instagram page last week, announcing that the couple was expecting its first child.
“I’m so glad you came into my life,” Fernandez wrote in that post. “I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together.”