Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
No. 4: Jose Fernandez strikes out two in All-Star debut
Year: 2013 at Citi Field, New York Result: AL3,NL0 Notable: Twenty-year-old rookie Jose Fernandez became the fifth-youngest pitcher to appear in an All-Star Game and only the third to record two strikeouts in the Midsummer Classic before turning 21.
On the same field where he made his major league debut three months earlier, Fernandez put on a show for the national audience by breezing through a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Only Bob Feller (1939) and Dwight Gooden (1985), two of the top 50 strikeout pitchers in MLB history, had previously recorded two strikeouts in an All-Star Game at 20 or younger. Fernandez sandwiched strikeouts of Dustin Pedroia (former AL MVP) and Chris Davis (major league leader with 37 home runs at the break) around getting 2012 Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera to pop out. Fernandez was on his way to becoming the NL Rookie of the Year after making the surprise jump from Class A in 2012 to the Marlins’ starting rotation. He showed his credentials during the memorable inning when he hit 98 mph three times on the radar gun against Cabrera. He struck out Pedroia looking at a 96-mph two-seam fastball at the knees and got Davis swinging at a sharp curveball. “Dangerous group of hitters there,” Fernandez posted on his Twitter account after exiting the game. “I felt like I was going to throw 110.” That All-Star Game is also remembered as the final one for the Yankees’ great closer Mariano Rivera, who was in the final season of a 19-year career. Fernandez joined with the other stars in standing outside the dugouts while Rivera took his warm-up tosses alone on the field amid thunderous applause. “I really think it was the best part of my experience in the All-Star Game,” Fernandez said afterward. No. 10: Dontrelle Willis gets left out in Chicago No. 9: Hanley Ramirez’s strong All-Star start No. 8: Lowell, Castillo and the game that ended in a tie No. 7: Dan Uggla’s ugly night No. 6: The last ASG for Jose Fernandez and David Ortiz No. 5: Josh Johnson’s dominance in ‘Year of the Pitcher’