WATCH: Miami Officials Break Down In Emotional Presser For Jose Fernandez

The baseball world is absolutely reeling from this morning’s shockingly sad news that Miami Marlins‘ gun pitcher Jose Fernandez tragically lost his life in a boating accident at the age of just 24.

Fernandez, a prominent face in Major League Baseball and one of the league’s brightest young stars, was among three killed near Miami Beach when the boat they were travelling in struck rocks near a pier at apparent high speeds. Miami-area police confirmed that the boat received significant damage to its underside, and that the pier and rocks in question are very difficult to see at night.
The Marlins, Fernandez’s one and only MLB side where he won the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year award, cancelled today’s planned game against the Atlanta Braves as a result of the news.
The club, fronted by team president David Samson, general manager Michael Hill, third baseman Martin Prado, and team manager Don Mattingly, fronted media a few hours ago for a highly emotional, moving press conference that was flanked by Marlins players. Fernandez’s fellow pitcher Mike Dunn held his signature #16 jersey up for the duration of the conference.
Fighting back tears throughout, club officials talked not only of Fernandez’s prodigious talents on the field, but of his big and positive personality, and the massive impact he had on his teammates and the baseball community (particularly for other hispanic and latino players).

Fernandez, who was drafted in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft, was born in Cuba, and successfully defected to the US in 2007 alongside his mother and sister. During that voyage, Fernandez’s mother fell overboard, only to be saved by a heroic Jose who jumped in to rescue her. Fernandez’s father Ramon defected in 2005 on his fourth attempt, with the three prior unsuccessful attempts resulting in jail time.
Fernandez became a US citizen just last year.
Elsewhere, the MLB community paused to mourn the passing of Fernandez. Several teams, including the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers, taped Fernandez 16 jerseys to their dugout walls prior to games played today.

Other players have been paying tribute by inscribing ‘JF16‘ on their hats, gloves, or in the dirt on the diamonds, and every MLB game held since the news hit has paused for a moment’s silence to mourn the phenomenally popular pitcher’s tragic death.

Baseball, and sport in general, has lost one of its true good guys, and one of its best stories of triumph over adversity. And lost him far, far, far too soon.
Rest in peace, Niño.

Source: Uproxx.
Photos: Joe Skipper, David Banks/Getty.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV