Fernandez
The Marlins’ game Sunday at home against the Atlanta Braves was canceled. The Braves, along with several other teams, quickly offered condolences.
“Hands down one of my favorite guys to watch pitch! He brought nothing but intensity and passion,” Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price tweeted.
Giants catcher Buster Posey said. “I always enjoyed my at-bats against him because of that. It almost had that feel of when you’re a little kid playing the game. That’s what I’ll remember about him.”
Within hours after the news broke, Marlins players gathered at the ballpark to grieve together.
“A lot of words were said — meaningful words and emotion and prayer,” team president David Samson said. “Jose is a member of this family for all time.”
Samson spoke at a news conference while surrounded by every player on the Marlins, except their ace. The players wore team jerseys — black ones. Fernandez was on a vessel that hit a jetty near a harbor entrance, said Lorenzo Veloz of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The overturned boat remained in the water for several hours, its engines partially submerged as its nose pointed skyward, as debris from the crash was scattered over some of the large jagged rocks.
“It does appear that speed was involved due to the impact and the severity of it,” Veloz said. “It does appear to be that they were coming at full speed when they encountered the jetty, and the accident happened.”
Fernandez died from trauma and not drowning, Veloz said, who added there was no immediate indication that alcohol or drugs were a cause in the crash. He said none of the three victims wore a life jacket.
A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Fernandez was unsuccessful in his first three attempts to defect, and spent several months in prison. At 15, he and his mother finally made it to Mexico, and were reunited in Tampa, Florida, with his father, who had escaped from Cuba two years earlier.
The Marlins drafted him in 2011, and Fernandez was in the majors two years later at 20. He went 38-17 in his four seasons with Miami, winning the NL’s Rookie of the Year award in 2013, and was twice an All-Star.
Last week Fernandez posted a photo of his girlfriend sporting a “baby bump” on his Instagram page, announcing the couple was expecting its first child.
“I’m so glad you came into my life,” Fernandez wrote in that post. “I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together.”
Video boards at Marlins Park on Sunday morning showed a large “16” — Fernandez’s uniform number — over his name. The number was also painted on the mound, and flowers rested on the rubber. A few dozen fans milled about in the ballpark plaza, some wearing Fernandez jerseys.
There were pregame tributes and moments of silence for Fernandez across the majors. His jersey hung in the Mets’ dugout as they played Philadelphia at Citi Field.