On September 25 the Miami Marlins lost one of their top pitchers. At just 24 years old, Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident with two friends. According to The New York Times, he was in a 32-foot motorboat that smashed into rocks off the Government Cut channel on the tip of South Beach in Miami. The boat capsized and killed all three men on impact. The boat wasn’t found until the next morning by a Coast Guard crew at about 3:30 a.m.
According to CBS Sports, Fernandez was born in Santa Clara, Cuba, and it wasn’t until 2008, at age 15, that Fernandez was able to defect to the United States. This was his fourth attempt at defecting and the first three times resulted in prison time on the charges of “being a traitor to Fidel Castro.” On the boat ride through the Gulf of Mexico Fernandez jumped overboard to save his mother who had been knocked into the ocean. Fernandez and his mother were finally reunited with his father in Tampa, FL. Five days before his death he announced his girlfriend was pregnant with their first child.
Fernandez was the 14th pick overall in the 2011 draft and was soon named the fifth best prospect in baseball and second-best pitching prospect. He reached the majors in 2013, the same year he was named the National League Rookie of the Year at just 20 years old. Fernandez spent four years in the majors with the Miami Marlins. In Fernandez’s four-year career he accumulated a 2.75 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.08 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and 103 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings according to CBS Sports.
After Fernandez’s death, teams throughout the MLB honored the athlete’s memory. A shrine appeared outside the Marlins’ stadium, as flowers, cards, signs and his number (16) along with a single Marlins’ cap, all placed by fans. According to Sports Illustrated the Marlins honored their teammate’s memory with Fernandez’s number 16 on the mound as well as on all players’ uniforms. The number will be retired after this season. Teams all over the country honored his memory with tributes and moments of silence as well.
