BASEBALL’S

ON HIS FOURTH attempt, Jose Fernandez defected from Cuba at the age of 15, saving his mother’s life during a harrowing boat ride.

At the age of 24, the pitcher for the Miami Marlins — one of the game’s brightest young stars — died Sunday morning in a boating accident that also killed two of his friends, the Coast Guard said.

Fernandez was a fierce competitor beloved by fans as much for his dazzling ability on the mound as his obvious love for the game.

The days he pitched were known as “Jose Day” and he was the team’s biggest draw.

“All he wanted to do was have fun and be on that mound and play the game — not work the game, but play the game. And he played it beautifully,” Eduardo Perez, a former major leaguer who does color commentary for the Marlins, said on ESPN.

“He’s going to be greatly, greatly missed.”

On Tuesday, Fernandez had posted on Instagram that he and his girlfriend, Carla Mendoza, were expecting.

“I’m so glad you came into my life. I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together. #familyfirst,” he wrote.

The Marlins game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday was canceled. The team left a cap on the pitcher’s mound at Marlins Park in Fernandez’s honor.

“He was a model for Cuban Americans and for all people who need to work harder than most to have freedom,” Marlins President David Samson said.

“He would always tell me, ‘You were born into freedom, you don’t understand freedom, really.’ ”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called Fernandez one of the game’s “great young stars.”

The Coast Guard said a routine patrol came upon an overturned 32-foot vessel crashed on a jetty at 3:15 a.m. at the entrance to Miami Harbor near Miami Beach.

Two bodies were found under the vessel and a third was found on the jetty. None was wearing life vests.

The boat appeared to have been traveling at “full speed” when it slammed into the jetty, Lorenzo Veloz, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and WildlifeCommission, said.

“He was a pillar to our community,”