As the entire baseball world mourned the loss of Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez on Sunday, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz asked the Tampa Bay Rays to cancel a ceremony honoring Ortiz’s career.
When news broke early on Sunday that Jose Fernandez, along with two of his friends, had tragically passed in a boating accident in South Florida, the baseball community went into shock. Fernandez and his friends were tragically taken too soon, and the thought of Fernandez no longer taking the mound with his vibrant smile and upbeat attitude is, frankly, crushing.
Retiring Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who had grown quite close to Fernandez, asked out of respect that the Tampa Bay Rays cancel the ceremony which had been planned in Ortiz’s honor. Ortiz, who will retire after this season, has been honored at ballparks all over the country in his final season. However, considering Sunday’s unfortunate and unexpected circumstances, Ortiz made the admirable request for the ceremony to be canceled.
In a private gathering, Chris Archer and Evan Longoria honored Ortiz, and presented him with gifts. The Rays gave Ortiz an oil painting to commemorate his 500th home run, which Ortiz hit on September 12, 2015 in Tampa Bay. The Rays also presented Ortiz with 34 handmade cigars.
As a retirement gift, Longo and Arch presented David Ortiz an oil painting of his 500th career homer, hit at Tropicana Field in 2015. pic.twitter.com/e5Re52PCqs
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 25, 2016
Both the Rays and Red Sox issued statements in the wake of Fernandez’s passing. Ortiz also took to Twitter to comment on Fernandez. “I don’t have the words to describe the pain feel for the loss of my friend Jose,” Ortiz wrote. “Goodbye, my friend.”
I dont have the words to describe the pain feel for the loss of my friend Jose. Goodbye, my friend. pic.twitter.com/xvaa5z62RW
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) September 25, 2016
Fernandez and Ortiz had a special relationship. Fernandez revealed that the first baseball jersey he bought when he arrived in the United States was an Ortiz Red Sox jersey. Like so many others, Fernandez idolized Ortiz. But the admiration and respect was mutual.
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At this year’s MLB All Star game in San Diego, Ortiz went out of his way — and risked tampering in the process — to say that he hoped the Red Sox would target Fernandez via a trade.
“He has incredible stuff,” Ortiz said of Fernandez at the All Star game. “I thought he was going to end up playing with me this year. I mean, you never know. I want him in my starting rotation. I mean, we need a little bit of help and hopefully that happens at some point, who knows?”
The quotes from Ortiz show just how highly he thought of Fernandez. The 24 year-old ace was cut from a different cloth. He was a fierce competitor, and was always happy to take the mound. His talent spoke for itself, and the game of baseball was better because Fernandez was a part of it.
Ortiz’s decision to ask for his pregame ceremony to be canceled is commendable. It was a sign of respect as the two teams, together, remembered Fernandez.
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When something truly tragic, such as this, occurs, the actual games themselves have a way of becoming secondary. However, all games except the Marlins vs. Braves were played as scheduled on Sunday. As for the Rays vs. Red Sox, Boston won 3-2 in 10 innings, and Ortiz went 3-5.