Image Credit: MLB.com I woke up two Sundays ago and checked my phone like I always do after I turn off my alarm. In between a few emails and text messages on my lock screen was an ESPN alert. I read it and my heart sank. I immediately said to myself something along the lines of, “What? Oh my God, no way.”
It was just too hard to believe. Then I checked Twitter, and it became real. It’s been about a week and a half now since José Fernández and two of his friends tragically died in a boating accident in Miami. I’ve taken this past week--this heartbreaking, emotional week for anyone in the baseball community--to sit back and try to wrap my head around it. I still haven’t exactly come to terms with the reality of the situation. One of Major League Baseball’s most beloved, genuine people and brightest young stars is dead at the age of 24. I’m not a Marlins fan. I never met José Fernández. And to be honest, I can’t remember if I ever saw him pitch in person. I must not have, because I easily would’ve remembered witnessing such an electric talent. But I have a handful of close friends and professional colleagues that knew him well. I’ve met a few of his Marlins teammates. My own mother knew him. I knew enough about José and enough about who he was as a person to feel the pain and sorrow that all of his loved ones feel. From last Sunday when the news broke, to last Monday seeing the Marlins’ on-field tributes to their fallen brother, to last Wednesday’s funeral procession in Miami, it was one tough week. I feel for José’s family, his friends, the Marlins organization, and anyone who had the privilege of knowing him. 24 years old and gone. It’s not fair. All week, I kept asking how something like this could’ve happened to anyone, to such a young person with a full life ahead of him. But then I thought this to myself: In a way, if you think about it, in just 24 short years, José Fernández already lived a full life. If you know his backstory, you know what I mean. Before he was one of the most unhittable pitchers in the Major Leagues, before he was the face of a franchise, before he was the José Fernández we all knew or knew of, he was a boy with a dream: a dream to come to the United States. He tried three times to escape from Cuba and was unsuccessful. After the failed attempts, he spent time in prison with actual criminals. Then he gave it another shot, and on that fourth try, he made it to the United States. On top of risking his life multiple times just to get out of Cuba, he put his life on the line again to save his drowning mother during their escape, not even knowing that it was her who was drowning when he initially jumped in the water. After his tireless struggle to just make it out of Cuba, Fernández worked his way to becoming a first-round draft pick. Not long after, he realized his dream of being a Major League pitcher, becoming a phenom by age 20, winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award in convincing fashion, and finishing third in the NL Cy Young vote. Then, in his second season, he was faced with more adversity. Fernández suffered an elbow injury early in the season that required Tommy John surgery. Just when he was about to dominate the league once again, his season came to a close. But less than 14 months later, Fernández was back on a big-league mound. He fought his way back from a devastating injury only to return better than ever toward the end of 2015. This season, he was making a strong case for the NL Cy Young Award and pitched what he called the best game of his life only two weeks ago, in what would be his last career game. And that was it. José was no stranger to having the odds stacked against him, but time and time again, he beat them. The irony of Fernández losing his life--the same life he risked multiple times just to get to the United States--in a boating accident is chilling, and it makes you think about what could have been, what should have been. It’s disheartening to think about Fernández’s world-class potential as a pitcher, his charismatic personality and unparalleled passion for baseball and life now that he’s gone, but we owe it to him to instead focus on everything he accomplished in just 24 years. What José did by the time he was 15 years old is more than most will ever do, and that’s worth celebrating. José Fernández’s 24 years of life were lived to the fullest. He epitomized the American Dream and did so with a fiery and contagious passion. Fernández leaves behind his grandmother, who by all accounts was his other half. He leaves behind his mother, whom he fled to the United States with as a teenager. He leaves behind his younger sister, who absolutely adored him. He leaves behind his beloved girlfriend, with whom he had just started his own family. But in all tragedies like this one, there is a silver lining. Fernández leaves behind his unborn daughter, which is heartbreaking any way you look at it, but it’s equally as beautiful. That child will never know her father, but there will be a countless number of people who will go out of their way to make sure she is the most loved little girl in the world, because she’s part of him. Amidst all the pain and sadness, there is joy and hope knowing that José Fernández’s spirit will live on--metaphorically and literally. Tomorrow is not promised, and José always lived “today” with that in mind. When you consider all he had been through in just 24 years on this earth, José lived a full life. If not now, in time, the impact and legacy he passes on will prove it. Someday, we’ll all tell the story of José Fernández: a story of perseverance, triumph and pure life. We’ll tell it with heavy hearts, but we’ll remember to crack a smile, because although his life was short, it was a life lived in full.
1 Comment
Mary Fellin, RSM
10/5/2016 06:26:42 pm
Michael, the most beautifu article about such a wonderful person who beat the odds so many times. To think that he accomplished the American dream.
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