Just three years ago, a young pitcher for the Miami Marlins named Jose Fernandez made his major league debut against the New York Mets. Fast forward to Sunday, September 25th, 2016, the sports world mourns the loss of one of baseball's brightest superstars. On Sunday morning, Fernandez was found dead due to a boating accident according to Miami authorities. He was just 24 years old. The Marlins canceled their game Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, and every major league game held on Sunday, had a moment of silence in respect to Fernandez. His number, 16, will never be worn by a Marlins player again, according to the team owner Jeffrey Loria.
The road to the majors was difficult for Fernandez. Took him four tries to defect from Cuba, and on one of those tries, he was caught and sent to prison as a teenager with adults. When he finally escaped Cuba, he saved a woman from drowning who fell from a boat, and the woman turned out to be his mother, it’s just an example of the type person he was. He became a U.S. citizen last year. This is a man that went through a lot but, he always had a smile on his face. Fernandez was not only one of the bright young superstars in baseball, he was known as a guy who enjoyed every second of the game, somebody people could talk to, somebody people loved to watch pitch, and someone people just loved as a person. Several players went to social media mourning for their fallen friend. Marlins manager Don Mattingly tweets, “Forever in our hearts.” Teammate Giancarlo Stanton posted a picture on Instagram saying, “The shock is overwhelming. What he meant to me , our team, the city of Miami, Cuba & everyone else in the world that his enthusiasm/heart has touched can never be replaced.” David Ortiz tweets “I don’t have the words to describe the pain feel for the loss of my friend Jose. Goodbye, my friend.” Fellow Cuban friend Yasiel Puig tweets, “You loved striking me out, and teasing me about it. I’m going to miss you bro #puiglovesyou.”
In his short time in the majors, Fernandez was one of the more dominant pitchers in the league. 2013 rookie of the year, two-time all star, a career record of 38-17 with 589 strikeouts in only 471 innings pitched, with 2.58 ERA, and a 1.05, WHIP. According to Fox Sports, he holds the most consecutive home wins to start a career, going 17-0. His career home record ended at 29-2. Let me say that again, 29-2! In his last start against the National League east champs Washington Nationals, he threw 8 shutout innings, with 12 strikeouts and only allowed 3 hits. The Marlins hitting coach, Barry Bonds, says that was the best start of his career. Fernandez was only 24 and had already proven to the world he was a force to be reckoned with. Who knows if he had even hit his prime yet! He was the cornerstone of a Miami Marlins team that was going to be contenders for their division for years to come. Due to this tragedy, this may have sent the Marlins franchise back a couple years. Fernandez will be someone greatly missed throughout, baseball, the city of Miami, and by those who knew him.