We’re still reeling from the death of such a young, promising talent who had such fun on the baseball field.
ICYMI this morning, Miami Marlins star pitcher José Fernández died overnight in a boating accident in Miami, and the team canceled their game today after reeling from the unimaginable tragedy.
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A few hours ago, the Marlins held a press conference about Fern├â┬índez, and as you can see by watching the club’s President of Baseball Operations, Mike Hill, speak (above), Jos├â┬⌐ clearly meant a LOT to that team.
Players, coaches, manager Don Mattingly, and the club’s front office executives all gathered in the stadium to meet the media and discuss the tragedy that took place overnight.
It wasn’t just Hill breaking down with emotion, though — team President David Samson spoke, too, reading off a statement from him and owner Jeffrey Loria:
“It is with the deepest sorrow that I, together with my family and the entire Marlins organization, mourn the tragic loss of Jos├â┬⌐. Sadly, the brightest lights are often the ones that extinguish the fastest. Jos├â┬⌐ left us far too soon, but his memory will endure in all of us. At this difficult time, our prayers are with his mother, grandmother, family and friends.”
Samson continued, revealing he found out about Fern├â┬índez’s death when he received a phone call from authorities asking him to confirm the pitcher’s address, saying:
“As you see around you, no words to describe how this organization feels. Jos├â┬⌐ was someone who we’ve known since he was a drafted young man. When you talk about a tragedy like this, there are no words that come to mind, there’s no playbook, there’s no words of consolation.”
As far as Mattingly was concerned, too, he had to pause multiple times as he held back tears during his time speaking.
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He said:
“When I think about Jos├â┬⌐, I’ll be thinking about that little kid. When I think of Jos├â┬⌐, I see such a little boy, 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 he would make you with some of the stuff he would do, you just see that little kid. When you watch kids play Little League, that’s the joy that Jos├â┬⌐ played with and the passion that he felt about playing. That’s what I think about.”
So, so sad.
Marlins teammate Giancarlo Stanton memorialized Fernández on social media (below):
As did teammate Dee Gordon (below):
Our thoughts and prayers are with José, his family, and his teammates.
R.I.P., José.