Marlins begin to move on without Fernandez
The atmosphere was funereal at Marlins Park three hours before the first pitch Monday, with players going through their pregame stretching in eerie silence, the customary hijinks and laughter sadly missing.
And then someone cranked up the sound system, and bouncy reggaeton reverberated throughout the ballpark. It was a nudge toward a return to normal, as the Miami Marlins and baseball began to move on without Jose Fernandez.
The animal race at the end of the fifth inning was cancelled, along with other in-game entertainment, and most of the Marlins’ hitters decided to forgo walk-up music. But there was a game against the New York Mets, the first game for the Marlins since their ace died in a boating accident early Sunday.
“This is shallow, but the show goes on,” Marlins president David Samson said. “There has been a lot of talking and a lot of crying and a lot of praying and a lot of trying to make sense of something you can’t make sense of. There is no sense to a life ended like that, in a way that is so meaningless.
“It’s our job to make his life matter, so we’re going to do that forever, and forever starts today.”
Fernandez made his major league debut against the Mets in 2013 and was scheduled to face them again Monday night in his final start of the season. Instead, Miami and the Marlins mourned the loss of the 24-yearold pitcher, whose talent and captivating personality were a combination unmatched in the sport.
Fernandez and two other men were killed when his 32foot SeaVee slammed into a rock jetty that extends off the southern tip of Miami Beach at about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, a medical examiner said.
Fernandez was originally scheduled to pitch Sunday before his start was moved back a day. The change may be the reason he decided to go on the late-night boat outing.
“If he had pitched yesterday, maybe fate would be different,” Samson said. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot.”
Manager Don Mattingly said, “Obviously it crosses your mind.”
The Marlins’ game Sunday against Atlanta was cancelled, and when they took the field Monday for pregame warmups, Fernandez’s name and number hovered over the field on the huge video screen. Second baseman Dee Gordon wore a T-shirt that said “RIP,” with a photo of Fernandez shaped as the “I.”
For the game, the players decided to wear Fernandez’s No. 16, with hastily made uniforms flown in.
The situation was emotional even for the Mets, who are in the thick of the chase for an NL wild-card spot with one week left in the season. On their dugout wall hung a Mets jerseys with Fernandez’s name and number.
“Hearts are heavy,” New York outfielder Jay Bruce said. “From a professional standpoint, you just try to prepare and play the game and respect the game. But I can’t even imagine what it’s like over in that other clubhouse.”