The baseball community, Miami, and Cuba is in mourning after hearing the heartbreaking news that Marlins pitcher, José Fernández was killed in a boating accident early Sunday morning. The rookie player was just 24 years old and was only beginning to leave his imprint in the baseball field.
According to USA Today, Fernández and two friends, Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Macias died in a boat crash on Government Cut, in Miami Beach, early Sunday morning. Fernández was not driving the boat, but the three men died as a result of the impact of the crash.
The Marlins cancelled Sunday’s game against the Braves, but members of the organization addressed the media. “Thinking of Jose I’m gonna be thinking of that little kid. I see such a little boy in him … with the way he played. There’s just joy with him when he played. When he pitched, I think that’s what the guys will say too. As mad as he would make you with some of the stuff he would do, you just see that little kid that you see when … you watch kids play little league or something like that. That’s the joy that Jose played with. The passion he felt about playing, that’s what I think about,” said Marlins manager Don Mattingly.
Fernández was not only an extremely well liked person, but he was also very talented. In 2013, he became the youngest Marlin named to an All-Star team. It seemed like baseball came easy to him and he had a great coach whom he would play baseball with at an early age—grandma. Watch below his reunion with his grandmother.
He tried to defect from his home of Cuba three times as a teenager, but failed, even landing in a Cuban prison when he was 15 years old. The fourth time he was successful, but it wasn’t easy, especially after his mom fell off the boat and he jumped in the ocean to save her. They eventually made it to Mexico, and then to Texas, and eventually he was able to pursue his dream of being in the Major League.
A photo posted by Jose Fernandez (@jofez16) on
Everyone that had the pleasure of meeting him remembers him as being a joyful person. Just a couple of days ago he shared a picture of his pregnant girlfriend, whom he loved very much and was very excited about becoming a father. Fans from Miami to Cuba mourn Fernández, a life gone too soon.