He died in an early morning boating accident in Government Cut, near Miami Beach, Sunday.
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Andy Slater of WINZ Radio was the first to report the news, which was later confirmed by the Miami Herald’s Clarke Spencer and Sirius XM Radio’s Craig Mish and other media outlets.
Since being called up by the Marlins as a 19-year-old player in 2013, only three-time Cy Young Award victor Clayton Kershaw (2.00) has a lower Fielding Independent Pitching ratio (FIP) than Fernandez (2.43) during that time, a statistic created to determine a pitcher’s earned-run average that removes an emphasis on luck, according to Fangraphs.com, a website focused around baseball analytics. Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz asked the Tampa Bay Rays to cancel a pregame tribute they scheduled in his honor before his final game in their ballpark Sunday.
The team’s home game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday has been cancelled.
The Marlins canceled their Sunday game against the Atlanta Braves in order to help Fernandez’s teammates begin to cope with the loss.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very hard time”, it added. Fernandez was killed as a result of the impact of the crash and did not drown. He made the All-Star team that season and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Officials later said that Fernandez and his two companions were killed when the 30-foot boat they were traveling in struck a rock jetty while traveling at “significant speed”.
The Associated Press quotes authorities who probed the wreckage as saying there was no evidence of illegal drugs or alcohol at the scene.
“Deep in our hearts there is a lot of pain”, third baseman Martin Prado said. The identities of the two other men have not been released.
Fernandez became a USA citizen just a year ago. The players wore team jerseys – black ones.
Fernandez posted a photo of his pregnant girlfriend on his Instagram page last week, announcing that the couple was expecting its first child.
Players and fans described him as enthusiastic, energetic and charismatic.
Fernandez, with his good looks and on-field charisma, was in many ways a hero to Miami’s sprawling Cuban community. The number was also painted on the mound, and flowers rested on the rubber.
Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets also hung a Fernandez jersey in his team’s dugout for their game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Minnesota dugout featured a No. 16 Twins jersey as they faced off against the Seattle Mariners.
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With his steaming fastball, Fernandez had an average 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings, the best in both the National and American leagues.
