Probe of jetty sought as service held for Marlins’ Fernandez
MIAMI >> Somber Miami Marlins players and personnel escorted a hearse carrying the body of star pitcher Jose Fernandez from the team’s ballpark Wednesday as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio sought a safety probe into the rock jetty where a boat crash claimed the lives of the baseball star and two friends.
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, manager Don Mattingly, hitting coach Barry Bonds and the team’s players including Marcel Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton wore white T-shirts emblazoned with Fernandez’s image and the letters “RIP” as they slowly walked the hearse away from Marlins Park in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Many in the crowd of about 1,000 chanted “Jose! Jose!” and some waved Cuban flags in honor of the popular Cuban-American player.
Jose Portuondo, 55, came to the event with his dog, Sophie. He said Fernandez, 24, was a shining example for Cubans who often risk their lives at sea to come to the U.S. seeking freedom. Fernandez defected from the communist island at age 15.
“His is the story of many in South Florida. He brings it home,” said Portuondo, who drives a city trolley bus. “Being here, the sadness is just thick in the air.”
Junko Sasaki, 40, who is Japanese but spends a lot of time in South Florida, brought an offering of fruit, rice and water to a makeshift memorial to Fernandez that has sprouted up outside the ballpark. She said it was a traditional Japanese way of ensuring the honored dead have what they need in the afterlife.
“It is a Japanese custom. Every day he can eat,” she said, adding that Fernandez once tossed her a baseball from the field at a game.
A public viewing was scheduled for later Wednesday at St. Brendan’s Catholic Church from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. A private funeral Mass will be held Thursday with family and Marlins players and personnel.
Rubio, a Florida Republican, sent a letter Wednesday to the Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers asking for a review of the century-old jetty and whether it poses a chronic danger to boaters. The jetty, which extends out from Miami’s port, is difficult to see at night especially at high tide, Rubio said.
“While our hearts are heavy with grief for the numerous lives lost every year on the water, we can do more to save others,” Rubio wrote. “As a boater myself, I have experienced firsthand the challenges this particular jetty can present to others trying to navigate around it.”
Shortly after the 32foot boat owned by Fernandez crashed early Sunday, the Coast Guard said a lighted buoy that marks the channel opening at the end of the jetty was working properly. The jetty itself does not have lights, but officials say routine reviews have concluded the existing navigational aids are adequate for safety.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In addition to Fernandez, Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and 25-year-old Eduardo Rivero also died in the crash.
Investigators have said no evidence of alcohol or drug use was found at the scene, but medical examiner toxicology reports are pending. A Miami River bar and restaurant has confirmed that Fernandez was there before the crash, but it is unclear if he was drinking.
Fernandez was an emerging baseball star known for his exuberant personality and style of play. He was National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and was a twotime All-Star. This year he set a single-season Marlins strikeout record with 253.
Instead of flowers, the Fernandez family asks for charitable contributions to the JDF16 Foundation, which is online at www. MiamiFoundation.org/ jdf16 .