Marlins coping with grief; ‘We lost an icon’
Memorial services for Fernandez set for next two days
Miguel Rojas tried to find the words to sum up the devastation felt by the Miami Marlins family since Jose Fernandez’s death Sunday.
“We lost an icon,” Rojas, a Marlins infielder, said in Spanish on Tuesday. “We lost a legend. We lost a companion, a friend, a brother, a leader.
“It’s not only a loss for Miami and for Florida but for the entire baseball world.”
Fernandez, a first-round pick in 2011, the National League rookie of the year in 2013 and a two-time All- Star at 24, died along with two friends in a boat crash off Miami Beach.
The Marlins, who canceled their Sunday game against the Atlanta Braves, were able to regroup Monday night, playing inspired baseball in a 7-3 win against the New York Mets.
Memorial services for Fernandez include a public viewing Wednesday at Miami’s St. Brendan’s Catholic Church and a Mass on Thursday.
Few Marlins players have felt the loss of Fernandez as much as left fielder Marcell Ozuna.
Fernandez, who was from Cuba, and Ozuna, who is from the Dominican Republic, had developed a close bond since 2012, when they played minor league ball together with high Class A Jupiter (Fla.).
“His family is like my family,” Ozuna said in Spanish. “We would play dominoes or go eat dinner together on our days off. We were together a lot.
“Jose was a part of me. This has left me feeling empty. Look at how the whole team feels.”
Ozuna said he feels a bit of survivor’s guilt because Fernandez had asked him to go out on the boat late Saturday. But because his wife and three children were waiting to see him, he declined.
Fernandez wasn’t so lucky, but that doesn’t change the legacy of joy he left behind.
Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton said he thought Fernandez was helping the game evolve, allowing players to find their fun on the field.
That’s of some small comfort to Stanton, who said he has had little sleep since Sunday. There has been little time to grieve, and the experience has been emotionally draining.
“If you care about life, if you have passion, if you have loved ones, you can relate to this situation,” Stanton said. “I didn’t think a team could be tighter than we were before this, but we are.”
Knowing that Fernandez was a few months away from being a father to a baby girl adds to the pain felt by his family and everyone who loved him.
“It hurts me so much to know that Jose won’t get a chance to see her grow up,” Ozuna said. “I hope one day I get a chance to meet his daughter so I can tell her what her father was like.”