The baseball world was shocked this week with the death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez. Fernandez was 24-year-old, he had a wife and was a father to be, his life was cut way too short. If you haven’t heard of Fernandez he was one of the MLB top pitchers, he was 16-8 this season with a 2.86 ERA. Many players from around the MLB admired his sheer love for the game, seeing him play it was like no one else loved the game as much as he did. He was admired by big name players like David Ortiz and many others.
According to the latest details about the accident he and two of his friends (Eddy Rivero and Emiilio Macias) went on a late night boat trip around 2 a.m. out of Miami beach. This following an argument between Fernandez and his girlfriend Carla Mendoza. It is unclear at the moment if they were in fact married but rumors are spreading that they might have been. The two friends that joined Fernandez on the boat were not Marlins players but just meer friends. They were instructed by another friend to try and keep Jose calm and to be rational. According to reports the boat they were on crashed into a jetty (pile of rocks much like a pier) flipping the boat over. All three were pronounced dead after divers came looking for the bodies early Sunday morning.
Fernandez escaped from Cuba where he was born in 1992, it took him three attempts to successfully make it to the United States. He attended high school in Tampa, Florida where he was a two-time state champion. He was a beloved player of many, just by seeing the news and social media it is easy to see the outreach of love and support to him and his family as they experience this difficult time in their lives. On Monday as the Marlins faced the Mets the whole Marlins team bared his jersey number and his name on the back showing their respect to him. Dee Gordon, Marlins infielder came up to bat and took the first pitch of his at bat in the right hand batter’s box to pay homage to his fallen teammate. What happened next was unbelievable, Gordon hit his first homerun of the season that at bat. Rounding the bases you could see the tears in his eyes knowing Fernandez was looking over him. After he touched home plate Gordon was embraced by his team as they all took the moment in. The Marlins won 7-3 and huddled to say a prayer after the game around the mound where their fallen friend spent nearly all his time.
Fernandez’s’ death shows just how short life is, everyone’s time will come and we never know when it will be. Though at the moment we don’t know much about the accident we believe that his life was cut too short at the age of 24, with a baby on the way. At this time, we wish the best to his wife and all of those affected by the loss of one of the best pitchers to play the game.
