The Marlins gave a wonderful tribute to their fallen pitcher Jose Fernandez during last night’s home game against The New York Mets. Every member on the team wore a #16 Fernandez jersey, gathered around the pitcher’s mound and drew #16 in the dirt before the game. As they gathered around the mound Take Me Out to the Ball Game was played on a trumpet while photos of Fernandez graced the jumbo Tron.
Fernandez was killed early Sunday morning in a boating accident. The 24-year-old was killed when a boat he was traveling in with two friends crashed into a rocky jetty near Miami Beach. He had been scheduled to make his final start of the regular season on Monday.
The death of this amazing athlete not only struck the Marlins team but the MLB franchise as a whole. Players from other major league teams taped up jerseys with Jose’s name and number in their dugouts. However, it was The Marlins who gave Jose the biggest tribute of all.
Adam Conley pitched for Marlins and worked a scoreless top of the first. In the bottom of the inning, Dee Gordon, a good friend of Jose’s, led off for the Marlins. Gordon, normally a left-handed hitter, batted right-handed and emulated Hernandez’s stance for the first pitch against the Mets’ Bartolo Colon. He then switched over to the left-hand batter’s box, and proceeded to hit his first home run of the season on the very next pitch. Gordon had tears streaming down his face as he rounded the bases, touched his heart and pointed skyward as he crossed home plate.
Here’s a video of the touching homerun:
The Marlins would then go on to win the game 7-3. After the final out of the game the team and staff all gathered around the pitcher’s mound once more. This time leaving their hats behind as a homage to their fallen brother Jose.
Miami Marlins coach Don Mattingly, recalled the “joy” of watching pitcher Jose Fernandez play baseball, during a press conference on Sunday.
“I see such a little boy in him with the way he played,” Mattingly told reporters, speaking haltingly and visibly distressed. “There was just joy with him when he played, and when he pitched. And I think that’s what the guys would say, too. As mad as he would make you with some of the stuff he would do, you just see that little kid you see when you watch kids play little league or something like that,” the coach added. “That’s the joy Jose played with and the passion he felt about playing.”
The Marlins officially retired Fernandez’s number before Monday’s game against the New York Mets.
Fernandez was born in Cuba but came to America in 2008, saving his mother’s life at 15 years old when she was washed overboard along the way.
This game was so hard to watch. A family lost a son, grandson and a daughter lost her father. These men lost a brother and all of baseball lost a shining light. So happy the Marlins walked off with a W last night. Jose was definitely with them in that moment.
Jose leaves behind his mother, grandmother, girlfriend and unborn daughter. #ripjose #rfj16
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