Remembering

One never expects to read the headline that crashed our Sunday mornings -- Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez killed in a boating accident. Unthinkable.
Just 24, and one of baseball's brightest young stars. Already the ace of a team on the rise; the right player in the right place. A Cuban emigree who left his country at age 15, coming of age in Florida, a 1st round draft choice who made it to majors in 2013 and immediately excelled. A Rookie of the Year and National League strikeout leader who made it all the way back from Tommy John surgery during his second season.
A transcendant player, comfortable with two languages and cultures, a cornerstone of a team that contended for a playoff team most of this season. And marketable! Not a lot of 24 year olds are pitching products nationally -- but Jose had already established himself as the face and voice of Five Hour Energy products.
You can look up his statistics -- his excellence on the field. But this is not the time to number-crunch. Listen to the comments Marlins skipper Don Mattingly gave at yesterday's press conference.
Baseball is so much poorer today; it has lost a player who bridged Latino and Anglo cultures, dazzled fans and drew the utmost respect of his rivals. 24? That's a TV series, not the age of special talent lost before ever playing his best ball.
I saw Fernandez pitch against the Mets as a rookle, then kept my lens focused on in the dugout during games in 2015 and '16.

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