We just learned that Jose Fernandez, the very talented young righthander with the Marlins is dead. He was apparently killed in a boating accident but details are still emerging.
He was an awesome young talent and quite an inspiration:
Fernandez was winding down his best big league season, posting a 16-8 record with a 2.86 ERA. The hard-throwing right-hander set a franchise record with 253 strikeouts this season, and his 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings rank tops in the Majors. Fernandez’s path to the big leagues is inspirational. Three times he tried unsuccessfully to defect from his native Cuba before arriving in the United States at age 15. He settled in Tampa, Fla., and became a sensation. Fernandez was Miami’s first-round pick in 2011, and at age 20 he broke into the big leagues, becoming an All-Star and the National League Rookie of the Year in 2013.
RIP Jose. Quite a shock!