Marlins Man and José Fernández: What Fernández Really Left Us With
By Josh Schwam
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez made an impact upon everyone he met during his short time here. His legacy will live on.
Tragic news struck the baseball world in the early hours yesterday morning; Marlins pitcher José Fernández had been killed in a boat accident. By now, you have probably heard the condolences sent out by everyone from your friends and your favorite MLB stars. You have probably seen Dan Le Batard and Don Mattingly reacting to the unbearable news. Every possible way of remembering Fernández has been done; his first and last pitches in the major leagues, being reunited with his grandmother and much more.
When discussing the former ace during the Miami Marlins’ news conference, Mattingly described Fernández’s love for the game and used Little League baseball as an example. There was so much that made Fernández the man he was.
As stated, we have seen many memories spewing out of many people. There is one person who submitted their remembrence that truly echo’s the very words that came out #16’s mouth last week.
Love him or hate him, Marlins Man provided us an unintentionally powerful memory. The last picture Lawrence Leavy took with Fernandez, the pitcher told Marlins Man “Let’s not take ourselves too seriously, it could all end tomorrow.” The picture from last week is below.
Your first thought while looking at this may be something like “man, he was right, it could all end tomorrow.” That was my first thought as well. That said, the more I considered this tragedy and as the day went on yesterday, I continued to stare at this tweet. This is not some large coincidence; this is a life lesson. The lesson is we should all look at the world like Fernández; with great appreciation. This was a man who not only loved life, but had great reason to love life.
After defecting from Cuba on his fourth try, Fernandez knew how to appreciate life like very few. He had been on the brink of freedom three times. That fourth time when he succeeded, he knew the promise that awaited him.
You have probably heard the defecting story already today as well. There are two ways understand what Fernández left us with; connect on a personal level or put yourself in a place like him. If you have been in a similar situation, you can empathize with Fernández.
As a very fortunate United States citizen, I was not fighting for my freedom at age 15. However, I can think about how lucky I am to not have to defect from a country like Cuba. I can think about how I have a roof over my head each night. Doing this, I can now understand Fernandez was the prototypical symbol for hope. To quote the movie The Shawshank Redemption, …”Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.” While he may be gone from our presence, Fernández left us with a story of hope that will never die.