Miami Marlins superstar, Jose Fernandez, died in a boating accident in Miami, Florida at the age of 24.
On the 25th of September, 2016, Marlins ace Jose Fernandez was on his boat with two other friends. The coast guard found Fernandez and his two friends at 3:15 in the morning. One body was found under water while two others were found on the rocks.
Reports say Fernandez’s boat had flipped over after hitting a jetty, but he did not die of drowning. Police records have said that Fernandez was not the one driving the boat. As signs show to prove, one of his friends was behind the wheel. In addition, the same reports have said drugs and alcohol were not involved. The Miami Marlins organization put out a statement exclaiming, “The Miami Marlins organization is devastated by the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at a very difficult time.”
Fernandez was one of the games top pitchers; even drawing comparisons to Mets Hall of Famer, Tom Seaver. In his brief four year career, Fernandez had a 38-17 record with a 2.58 era and 589 strikeouts in 76 games in the beginning. In 2014, Fernandez was forced to receive Tommy John surgery and only started eight games. The next year, he was limited to eleven. However, this year was more of a comeback as, before his death, Fernandez went 16 and 8 with a 2.86 era and a league leading 253 strikeouts in 29 games this year.
Not only was Fernandez a tremendous pitcher, but he was an expecting father. His girlfriend, Carla Mendoza, is pregnant with the child of Jose. When they announced the pregnancy on Instagram, Jose commented on his wife’s profile, “I’m so glad you came into my life. I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together. #familyfirst.“
The day Fernandez died, the Marlins canceled there game against the Mets due to the tragedy. The first game they played the next day, the entire team wore jerseys with his name and number. Players all around the MLB were hanging up his jersey in their dugouts. However, the most heart wrenching moment came from Marlins teammate and friend, Dee Gordon. Gordon, the left handed hitter, took the first pitch from the other side of the plate to honor Fernandez. Then, after switching back to his natural side, Gordon hit a home run to start off the game. While rounding the bases, Gordon was in tears for his fallen friend.
Throughout his life in the Majors, Fernandez made a lot of friends that spoke about him. His manager, former Yankee, Don Mattingly said, “The way he played, there’s just joy with him when he played. And when he pitched, and 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 and the passion he felt about playing, that’s what I think about.”
