Marlins to honor Jose Fernandez by retiring No. 16
Still grieving the death of Jose Fernandez, the Miami Marlins returned to work Monday to take on the New York Mets.
To honor their star pitcher, the Marlins announced they will retire Fernandez's No. 16. They will also wear Fernandez's No. 16 uniform in Monday night's game.
"No one will wear No. 16 again," owner Jeffrey Loria said Monday.
It has been a whirlwind weekend for the Marlins. Fernandez, the 24-year-old ace starting pitcher, died Sunday morning following a boating accident. The Marlins’ Sunday game against the Atlanta Braves was quickly scrapped, but the club still had to prepare for an emotional Monday tilt.
“It’s been hard -- really had,” manager Don Mattingly said. “But I think at this time, we kind of look at how we feel. But it’s probably more important how Jose’s mom and grandmother and their family feel. And nobody talks about it too often, but there are two other families that are probably crushed and hurting. So I think our organization feels for all the families.”
Scott Boras, Fernandez’s longtime agent, visited the family Monday and said a public memorial is in the works for Thursday (when the team is off). Fernandez was actually slated to pitch Monday against the Mets.
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“If he had pitched Sunday, would his fate have been different? I have been thinking about that a lot,” Marlins president David Samson somberly said. “ … It’s our job to make his life matter, and we’re going to do that forever.”
There was already a makeshift memorial in front of the park, and fans lined up to pay their respects for the former NL Rookie of the Year.
Mattingly met with Fernandez’s family Sunday, and the interaction brought back a lot of bad memories for the former New York Yankees first baseman.
“It was awful,” Mattingly said, choking up. He admitted that the incident also recalled memories of Thurman Munson’s untimely death when Mattingly was playing in the minors as a member of the Yankees organization. “Personally, it took me back to a different time that if I start talking about I’m not going to be able to talk. Watching his mom and grandmother reminded me of my brother who was killed at 23 when I was 6 years old.
“(My parents) shielded me. I was not really a part of all that. I didn’t know what was going on. But now I know what was going on. So I knew the pain. I could see my mom and my sister-in-law in everything they are going through. It was awful. “
The players are taking it hard, of course. But Mattingly says there are “all kinds of resources” for players to talk about their feelings. Mattingly said he’s been particularly touched by how many people – including players he formerly managed – reached out with words of encouragement.
“We want to go out there and compete because that’s what Jose would want,” Samson said. “People are in there trying to come to grips with something. They were in there with their teammate on a Saturday night, and then they are not, and that’s hard to come to grips with.
“I’m physically unwilling to use the past tense with Jose because of what he means to this franchise. That meaning doesn’t end yesterday or today. When generations of people come to Marlins games, they will always know Jose Fernandez was part of this franchise.”
GALLERY: MARLINS HONOR, REMEMBER JOSE FERNANDEZ
