The processions were set to begin at 2:16; Fernandez wore No. 16 in his four seasons.
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Fernandez, 24, and two other men were killed early that Sunday when his 32-foot SeaVee boat slammed into a rock jetty that extends off the southern tip of Miami Beach.
The death of any young person in the prime of his or her life is a tragedy. Fernandez was one of us.
While both of these athletes played in vastly different time periods, their impacts will have a lasting effect in their respective sports, as well as the entire sports community in general.
She was there to pay tribute, she said, “because I am not going to see him again. We just can’t answer why this happened”.
As Fernandez’s hearse arrived at Marlins Park, every one of Fernandez’s teammates – clad in white shirts that read “RIP” with Fernandez’s image – gathered to touch the black vehicle as it readied to depart for the procession. A little over 10 percent of all players are Dominican (the island holds the title as the second largest producer of Major League Baseball players besides the U.S.in the world). “And I say it’s bad because I never thought I’d have to be part of something like that”.
The New York Mets, in the thick of a playoff chase, are scheduled to play in Miami on Monday. Fernandez was an All-Star in 2013 and 2016.
“He epitomizes what the game’s about”, Collins said. He was special to Miami because he shared a rough history with thousands of Cuban-Americans who not only understood his hardship, but also loved baseball with a fierce passion.
“It’s a deep wound for the whole team”, Marlins player Martin Prado told reporters. “Somehow we’ve got to overcome that”.
Other details from the night of the accident were coming to light, too, with a report that one of Fernandez’s teammates urged him not to go out on the boat and another friend turned down an invitation to join Fernandez, Emilio Macias and Eduardo Rivero on the boat.
Once on the open water, the newspaper reported, someone fell off of the boat, and Fernandez, a good swimmer, asked no questions; he jumped in to save the person. His number was also stenciled on the back of the mound. Fans established a makeshift memorial on the plaza outside the ballpark entrance, leaving dozens of flower arrangements – daisies, carnations, roses and lilies, the result as colorful as Fernandez’s personality. Now that it is confirmed that Jose Fernandez’s girlfriend, Maria Arias is pregnant, we are sure you must be wondering, “Who is Maria Arias?”. I grew up in South Florida and was blessed to start my career as a journalist in the same place where I spent most of my life.
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At the time I didn’t understand it but now I understand that it is possible that, was in fact, one of the reasons I took the death of Fernandez so hard.
