José Fernández, a 24-year-old pitcher for the Miami Marlins, was killed Sep. 25 in a boating accident, Florida authorities said.
Fernández, along with two other men, were found dead after their boat crashed and flipped upside down on top of a pile of rocks at around 3:15 a.m.
Fernández was born July 31, 1992 in Cuba and later immigrated to America in 2008. In 2013 he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. As a two-time MLB All-Star, he had a career run average of 2.58 and recorded 589 career strikeouts.
The Miami Marlins announced that Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Braves had been cancelled as they paid tribute to the fallen pitcher. The next day the team played against the New York Mets, with all their players wearing Fernández’s No. 16 uniform. At the end of the game, the Marlins announced that they were retiring No. 16 in his honor.
José Fernández is survived by many including his mother, Maritza and his grandmother Olga. Four days before he passed, he announced that his girlfriend, Carla Mendoza was pregnant and they were expecting their first child together. His last post on Instagram was a black and white image of Mendoza with the caption “I’m so glad you came into my life. I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together.”