Fernandez defected from Cuba and played high school ball in Florida before being drafted in 2011 by the Marlins. Jose took the baseball world by storm winning the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year award and earning a spot in the All-Star game that summer.
He spent most of 2014 and 2015 dealing with Tommy John surgery, but was returned to his All-Star form this season.
It reminded me of when as a kid I heard about Cleveland Indians relievers Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed in a boating accident back in 1993. Fellow pitcher Bobby Ojeda was severely injured when the boat they were in crashed into an unlit pier on a moonless night.
I remember that crash in 93, and I remember Daryl Kile and Nick Adenhart and Oscar Taveras. And yet, when I heard that Jose died it sounded like a hoax to me. Really shocked and saddened as well.
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