Tragedy has struck the world of baseball today, as Jose Fernandez, the young superstar pitcher of the Miami Marlins, has died. He was killed in a boating accident early Sunday morning, along with 2 others. The accident happened in the late evening/early morning hours and at at around 3:30 A.M this morning, the Coast Guard found a boat overturned near a jetty.
Fernandez was a Cuban-born pitcher who grew up in Miami and was drafted 11th overall by the Marlins in 2011. He won the National League Rookie Of The Year Award in 2013, going 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and 187 strikeouts. He also finished third in the National League Cy Young Award race. 2014 was a lost year, as he had Tommy John Surgery, but he would come back with a vengeance. In the stretch run of 2015, he found his old form and went 6-1 with a 2.92 ERA, which would set him up for his brilliant 2016 season, winning 16 games, striking out 253 batters and earning an All-Star Game berth, and was one of the front runners for the Cy Young.
He was known for his ebullient personality on the mound, which would rankle his opponents occasionally. He had a pitch repertoire that could stagger opponents with a darting fastball and a devastating curve. He was the backbone of the Marlins pitching staff, posting a 2.86 earned-run average, and he struck out at least 11 batters in nine of his 29 starts this season.
In the final start of his career, Wednesday night against the Washington Nationals, Fernandez shut out the Washington Nationals over eight innings, striking out 12 in a 1-0 victory.
The Marlins issued a statement on the loss of Fernandez, and have cancelled today’s game against the Atlanta Braves to mourn the death of the young superstar.
This is a great loss, not only for the Marlins franchise, but for baseball in general – players and fans alike. People were saying he would be one of the all-time greats, and now, we will never know or witness that.
Jose Fernandez, gone at the age of 24 years old.