Mourning Marlins cope with Fernandez’s death
MIAMI >> Jose Fernandez’s name and number showed on the video screen at Marlins Park on Monday when his teammates took the field, preparing to face the New York Mets without him.
Fernandez made his major league debut against the Mets in 2013 and was scheduled to face them again Monday night. Instead, Miami mourns and the Marlins are pushing on without their 24-year-old ace, who was killed in a boating accident early Sunday.
“Deep in our hearts there is a lot of pain,” third baseman Martin Prado said. “Somehow we’ve got to overcome that.”
His death sent shock waves throughout Major League Baseball. Fernandez and two other men were killed when his 32-foot SeaVee slammed into a rock jetty that extends off the southern tip of South Beach. A Coast Guard crew going out on patrol discovered the wreck at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.
The boat landed upsidedown, with its engines partially submerged, its bow pointed skyward and debris scattered over the large jagged rocks.
The exact time of the accident and who was behind the wheel have yet to be determined, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. There’s no immediate indication that alcohol or drugs factored into the crash, added a commission spokesman, Lorenzo Veloz.
Also killed were Emilio Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25, according to Darren Caprara, operations director of the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner will establish the cause of death for all of the victims.
Fernandez is the registered owner of the vessel. The wreck was taken from the scene to a secure facility where investigators will examine the evidence, the commission’s statement said.
All of the Marlins players planned to wear Fernandez’s No. 16 in Monday’s game, the team said.
Fans established a makeshift memorial on the plaza outside the ballpark entrance, leaving dozens of flower arrangements — daisies, carnations, roses and lilies, the result as colorful as Fernandez’s personality. There were also candles, and messages scrawled on balls, balloons, photos and jerseys.
Fernandez won the NL Rookie of the Year award and became a two-time All Star; he also was expecting his first child, with his girlfriend. But his backstory made his death even more heart-wrenching: He escaped from Cuba by boat on his fourth try as a teenager, and when his mother fell into the Yucatan Channel during the journey, he jumped in and pulled her out.
The Marlins canceled their Sunday afternoon game against Atlanta, but there were pregame tributes and moments of silence for him throughout both leagues. Many teams hung jerseys with his name and number.
“This was not only one of the greatest pitchers in the modern game, but one of the finest young men you’d ever meet, who played the game with passion and fun and enjoyed being out there,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Marlins players and team officials gathered to grieve together; some failed to hold back their tears.
“All I can do is scream in disbelief,” said Hall of Famer Tony Perez, a Marlins executive and native of Cuba. “Jose won the love of all. I feel as if I had lost a son.”