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We’ll all miss Jose Fernandez

We idolize athletes. They’re people we look up to. If we’re a fan of a certain player, we feel a special connection with them. Even though we haven’t met them and most likely never will, we feel like we’ve known them our whole lives because of how much exposure we get to them.

Jose Fernandez was one of those players. Even if you weren’t a fan of the Miami Marlins, you loved to watch him pitch. He had a love for the game of baseball and had a special talent that doesn’t come along very often.

Fernandez was found dead Sunday morning at the age of 24. He was killed in a boating accident along with two of his friends.

Fernandez, originally from Cuba, was brought up to the Major League level at the age of 20 in 2013. He got off to a great start, winning National League Rookie of the Year, while posting a 12-6 record and had a 2.19 ERA. This season, he was in prime position to win his first Cy Young award and still could by year’s end. Fernandez sits with a 16-8 record, 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts.

It’s hard to understand how many emotions were swirling around in my head when I heard the news. I had just woken up Sunday morning, and looked at my phone only to see my mom had texted me asking if I had seen what had happened to Fernandez. I was in disbelief. He was just two years older than I am.

I had never met the star pitcher from Miami, nor am I a Marlins fan. But I had seen him pitch more than a handful of times. I had seen him bring a fiery passion every time he took the mound or when he sat in the dugout cheering on his teammates.

I remember his first homerun, when he stood at home plate and watched it sail over the fence. The opposing team thought he was showboating, but he was just so overfilled with joy that he had hit his first long ball. I don’t blame him for wanting to take a peek at it, and his joy for the game was what garnered so much love from the fans.

With those moments in mind, I felt my eyes water, and I wondered how a guy I had never said one word to could make me feel so heartbroken.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt taken aback by the news. It’s amazing how we feel a type of relationship with people we only see through the media.

We see them every day on Twitter and Sportscenter and when we their games. We see them appear at press conferences after wins and losses talking about their jobs, and then we see pictures of them with their families. We feel like we’re almost a part of their lives. It’s that type of connection that allows us to mourn the loss of Jose Fernandez.

Perhaps if this accident didn’t happen, Jose Fernandez would have become one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Unfortunately, we’ll never get the chance to find out.

All we know is baseball will miss the devotion that Fernandez brought to the ballpark every single night.

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