The first thing I would like to make clear is that I am a huge Mets fan, but I've always appreciated the sport of baseball as a whole. Baseball has always been my favorite sport, ever since I was a little girl going to Shea Stadium before I even turned a year old. There's something truly special about it.
For those of you who don't know, Jose Fernandez was a pitcher on the Miami Marlins who died at the age of 24 in a boating accident on September 25th.
It's hard not to appreciate someone like him who endured so much just to get to this country and impressed the world with the potential to be one of the all-time greats. He was a genuine guy and an amazing friend to his teammates. He tried to leave his country of Cuba 3 times unsuccessfully until finally reaching the United States on his 4th try in 2008. He left some family behind in Cuba, including his grandmother, the person he considered his biggest supporter. He even became a U.S. citizen in 2015, and his girlfriend is expecting their baby.
He was drafted by the Marlins in 2011 as the 14th overall pick. He was named National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and was a 2 time All-Star in the 4 seasons he played in the MLB.
In 2016, Fernandez averaged 12.49 strikeouts per game-- the best in professional baseball. In his 76 career starts, he went 38-17 with a 2.58 ERA and 589 strikeouts in 471 and 1/3 innings pitched.
In other words, he was phenomenal and was very much believed to only get better from there.
Baseball as a whole not only lost a tremendous player but, most importantly a tremendous person.
The Marlins game was canceled that day and a special ceremony took place on Monday to honor him. The game was in Miami against the Mets. It was a truly beautiful ceremony, where all the Marlins players wore his number on their jerseys, and his number was retired to never be worn by a Marlin again. What was the most inspiring part of the ceremony was once it concluded, you saw the 2 teams walking towards each other and giving hugs and well wishes. Something that I truly don't think you would see in every sport. It's the end of the season, that game was important for the Mets, but the loss of a life truly makes you reconsider what's the most important thing is, and that's the love of family and friends.
When the other MLB teams heard of his loss, many players took to social media to speak about Fernandez, even those who didn't have a close relationship with him. Numerous teams had Fernandez's jerseys made to hang up in their dugouts for remembrance, and games following the tragedy started the game with a moment of silence in his honor.
The Mets announcers were in tears talking about it during that first game back, and Mets players were as well, especially Yoenis Cespedes who felt a connection with the player because he is also Cuban.
Of course, it hit the Marlins players and fans the hardest. The fact that they were even able to play in that game was truly amazing to me. The Marlins second baseman, Dee Gordon, one of Fernandez's close friends, hit a lead-off home run in that first game back. Quoted to have said it was the best moment of his life because it gave the players and the fans something to cheer about.
An event like this really makes me think.
What if something like this were to happen to me or someone close to me?
At times like this, you realize that we all only have one life to live, something horrible could happen at any time-- taking it away from us, so we need to live it to the fullest.
Do what you love to do, travel and try to complete your bucket list, and tell your family and friends how much you love them.
This event really opened my eyes to how much hardship can bring people together. Baseball truly is an example that we can all follow. I'll end with the words of Dee Gordon, "Thank you to the Mets in a time of need. Baseball is a family."
