José Delfín Fernández Gómez (July 31, 1992 – September 25, 2016) was aCuban-born American professionalbaseball right-handedpitcher who played four seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He was a member of theMiami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 243 pounds (110 kg) during his playing career. He was affectionately known as "Niño" to his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game.[1][2]
José Delfín Fernández Gómez was born on July 31, 1992, inSanta Clara, Cuba. Growing up there, he lived on the same street as his friend and futureMajor League Baseball (MLB)shortstopAledmys Díaz.[3] They played for the same youth baseball team, and Díaz's father and uncle encouraged Fernández's mother to bring him to the ballpark. Fernández commented that he pursued aprofessional baseball career because Díaz's uncle had been an influence early in his life.[4][5]
Ramón Jiménez, Fernández's stepfather,defected fromCuba in 2005, settling inTampa, Florida. On three occasions, José unsuccessfully attempted to defect; each failed defection attempt was followed by a prison term. On his fourth attempt in 2007, José successfully defected at age 15 with his mother and sister. José's mother fell overboard when the boat hit turbulent waters, and he dived into the water to save her life.[6] They reached Mexico and then moved to Tampa in 2008.[7]
Ramon knew Orlando Chinea, acoach who lived in the Tampa area. Chinea had trained some of Cuba's top pitchers before he defected to Tampa. Ramon had José train with Chinea.[8] He attendedBraulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida.[9] Playing on the high school baseball team, José was part of the Florida Class 6A state champions in his sophomore and senior seasons.[10] Before his senior year in 2011, theFlorida High School Athletic Association ruled that Fernández was ineligible,[clarification needed] as he entered theninth grade while in Cuba in 2006 and had therefore exhausted his eligibility. MLB'sCincinnati Reds were prepared to sign Fernández as an internationalfree agent to a $1.3 million signing bonus. Fernández won an appeal and was declared eligible for his senior year, ending Cincinnati's pursuit.[11][clarification needed] As a senior, Fernández pitched to a 13–1win–loss record with a 2.35earned run average (ERA) and 134strikeouts. He also threw twono-hitters.[10] He was committed to play baseball at theUniversity of South Florida.[12]
Pitching for theGreensboro Grasshoppers of theClass ASouth Atlantic League (SAL) to start the 2012 season, Fernández threw the first six innings of a combinedno-hitter.[9] He was twice named the SAL pitcher of the week.[14] Fernández was named to appear in the 2012All-Star Futures Game.[15] After pitching to a 7–0 win–loss record and a 1.59 ERA in 14 games for Greensboro, the Marlins promoted Fernández to theJupiter Hammerheads of theClass A-AdvancedFlorida State League.[13] He finished the 2012 season with a 14–1 win–loss record, a 1.75 ERA, and 158 strikeouts in 134innings pitched at Greensboro and Jupiter. He was named the Marlins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.[16]
Prior to the 2013 season,Baseball America ranked Fernández as the Marlins' bestprospect and the fifth best prospect in all of baseball.[17][18] The Marlins invited Fernández tospring training but sent him to minor league camp before the season began. However, they chose to add Fernández to their 25-manOpening Day roster, due in part to injuries toNathan Eovaldi andHenderson Álvarez.[19] Also, Marlins ownerJeffrey Loria hoped that promoting Fernández would buy him goodwill with the fans, following afire sale the previous offseason.[20] He was planned to be limited to approximately 150 to 170 innings during the 2013 season in order to protect his development.[21] He was the second youngest National League player that season, older only than the Nationals'Bryce Harper.[22]
Fernández made his major league debut on April 7 against theNew York Mets atCiti Field.[23] He pitched fiveinnings, allowing onerun on threehits with eight strikeouts. He became the seventh pitcher since 1916 under the age of 21 who recorded at least eight strikeouts in his MLB debut.[24] Fernández had a rough outing against theTampa Bay Rays on May 27. Rays' managerJoe Maddon took toTwitter soon after watching Fernández pitch, saying, "José Fernández might be the best young pitcher I've ever seen, at that age. I believe he will go far."[25]
On July 6, 2013, Fernández was selected to represent the Marlins for the National League All-Star team. He pitched a perfect 6th inning in the2013 All-Star Game in which he struck outDustin Pedroia, gotMiguel Cabrera to pop out, and struck outChris Davis. With this performance, Fernández is one of only three pitchers in the history of the All-Star Game who struck out two batters prior to their 21st birthday for their All-Star debut, the other two beingDwight Gooden andBob Feller.[26]
Fernández struck out 13 batters in a game against thePittsburgh Pirates on July 28, earning the 3–2 victory.[27] With Fernández's 14-strikeout performance against theCleveland Indians on August 3, 2013, he became just the sixth pitcher since 2000 to strike out 13 or more batters in consecutive games.[28] He established the Marlins' rookie record for most strikeouts in one game. For his performance in July 2013, Fernández was named theRookie of the Month for the National League, leading all qualified rookie pitchers in ERA.[29] He followed up his July by compiling a 1.15 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched in August, which resulted him in receiving a second consecutive Rookie of the Month Award.[30]
Fernández's rookie season was considered historic[31][32] as his 4.2Wins Above Replacement placed him in the Top 10 player seasons among those under 21 years old since 1900. Fernández'sAdjusted ERA+ of 174[33] on the season also placed him in the Top 10 all-time for pitchers under the age of 21, and he became only the fourth pitcher to record this feat in the past century.[34] His strikeout rate led the National League at 9.81 strikeouts per nine innings.[35]
Fernández started his sophomore campaign as the Opening Day starter for the Marlins, making him the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher sinceDwight Gooden in 1986.[40] Fernández recorded nine strikeouts while walking none, and he joinedBob Gibson,Steve Carlton,Ferguson Jenkins,Walter Johnson, andCy Young as the only pitchers to do so on Opening Day.[41] On May 12, Fernández was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a right elbow sprain. An MRI revealed that the elbow had a tornulnar collateral ligament, which prematurely ended Fernández's 2014 season.[42][43] He underwentTommy John surgery on May 16. He made eight starts, going 4–2 with a 2.44 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 2014.[44]
Fernández began the 2015 season on the 15-day disabled list but was later moved to the 60-day disabled list to continue recovery from Tommy John surgery.[45] It was announced by the Marlins on June 15 that he would make his season debut on July 2.[46] In his debut, Fernández recorded six strikeouts in six innings. He also hit a home run.[47] Fernández returned to the disabled list in August with a biceps strain in his pitching arm.[48] He returned to the mound in September and set a major league record for consecutive wins at home by a single pitcher with his seventeenth such win on the 25th of that month.[49][50]
To aid his recovery fromTommy John surgery, Fernández cut back on the use of his fastball during spring training in 2016 and began working on his secondary pitches.[51] Appearing as a pinch hitter in the 12th inning against theAtlanta Braves on July 1, Fernández doubled in two runs to put the Marlins ahead 7–5, which ended up being the final score. He became just the second pitcher in Marlins history to produce a game-winning hit, followingDennis Cook on August 1, 1997.[52] Fernández appeared in the2016 MLB All-Star Game.[53]
Fernández pitched his last game on September 20. He threw eight shutout innings in a 1–0 win against the division-leading Nationals, striking out 12 batters and allowing just three hits with no walks. Afterwards, Marlins infielderMartín Prado recalled that Fernández told a teammate it was "the best game he ever pitched".[54]
He finished 2016 with an MLB-leading 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings and a new Marlins' season record of 253 strikeouts in182+1⁄3 innings. He won 16 games, the best of his four-year career, while losing eight, with a 2.86 ERA. He had the highestline drive percentage allowed (28.0%) of all major league pitchers.[55] He also had the lowest percentage of ballspulled against him (33.3%) among major league pitchers, and led major league pitchers in lowest contact percentage (67.5%).[56][57] For his career, he had a 38–17 win–loss record for a .691 winning percentage and a 2.58 ERA.[58]
Fernández had four pitches in his repertoire: afour-seam fastball that averaged 94–97 miles per hour (151–156 km/h) and topped at 100.2 miles per hour (161.3 km/h),[59] aslurve[60] at 80–86 miles per hour (129–138 km/h), achangeup at 87–88 miles per hour (140–142 km/h), and an occasionalsinker at 93–94 miles per hour (150–151 km/h).[61]
Fernández talks to reporters at the 2016 MLB All-Star Game
Fernández considered his grandmother, Olga, the "love of his life".[62] After six years apart, Olga and José were reunited in Miami after the 2013 baseball season.[63][64] Fernandez married Alejandra Baleato Marichal, his high school sweetheart, in December 2012 in Tampa, Florida. The couple divorced in 2014.[65] On April 24, 2015, he became acitizen of the United States.[66][67]
On September 20, 2016, five days prior to his death in a boating accident, Fernández announced that his girlfriend Maria Arias was pregnant with their child.[68] Fernández's daughter was born in February 2017.[69]
Fernández was good friends with teammateDee Strange-Gordon. Strange-Gordon paid tribute to him on the day after his death by wearing Fernández's batting helmet and standing in the right-hand batter's box for the first pitch from Mets' starterBartolo Colón. He then switched sides and hit a lead-off home run, which was his only home run of the year. After rounding the bases, Strange-Gordon wept as he pointed to the sky as a tribute to his deceased friend.[70]
On September 25, 2016, Fernández died in a pre-dawn boating crash when the 32-foot (9.8 m) boat he was piloting was speeding at 56.48 knots (65 mph) and struck theGovernment Cut north rock jetty offMiami Beach, Florida.[71][72] TheU.S. Coast Guard found the boat,ꓘaught Looking,[73] at about 3:00 a.m., overturned on thejetty nearSouth Pointe Park, and found Fernandez and two other men, Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias, dead at the scene.[71][74] A Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) official confirmed that Fernández had died from theblunt impact of the crash.[75] The commission received a toxicology report from themedical examiner ofMiami-Dade County, but opted not to release the results.[76] On October 28, 2016, ESPN obtained the autopsy and toxicology reports, which determined that Fernández hadcocaine in his system and was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.[77]
The Marlins canceled their game against theAtlanta Braves on the day of his death.[70] Teams around the major leagues honored Fernández, paying tribute with a league-wide moment of silence and the display of his jersey No. 16.[78] TheMiami Dolphins also observed a moment of silence before their Sunday football game against theCleveland Browns.[79] The next day, all players wore his jersey for the final time for that night's game, a 7–3 win over theNew York Mets.[80] The city of Miami and the Marlins held a public memorial and funeral procession for Fernández on September 28.[81] His ashes were scattered at sea on October 2.[82]
In asearch warrant affidavit, Miami-Dade County authorities stated that a strong odor of alcohol was found on the three men who died in the crash, and evidence indicated that Fernández was speeding and driving with "recklessness" that was "exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol".[83][84] In February 2017, the families of Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias sued Fernández's estate for $2 million each, claiming negligence and personal injury.[85] The lawsuit was settled on July 31, 2018, for an undisclosed sum.[86]
On March 16, 2017, the final investigative report on the incident confirmed that Fernández was piloting the boat at the time of the incident "in a reckless manner, at an extremely high rate of speed, in the darkness of night, in an area with known navigational hazards such as rock jetties and channel markers." The report concluded that he was legally drunk, having ablood alcohol content of 0.147%, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08%. Fernández also had cocaine in his system and was liable for multiple crimes, includinginvoluntary manslaughter, boating under the influence, vessel homicide, and reckless or careless operation of a vessel.[87][88][89] Fernández family attorney Ralph Fernandez (no relation to the deceased) challenged the findings of the final report, claiming that Fernández was framed as the boat pilot and that someone had spiked his drink with cocaine.[90]
Prior to the investigative report, there had been talks about honoring Fernández with a statue, streets named after him, and plaques throughout the city.[91] As of 2018[update], a plaque showing his jersey No. 16, years of birth and death, and a black ribbon is displayed outside ofLoanDepot Park.[92]
^Bailey, James (December 12, 2012)."Marlins top 2013 prospects". Baseball America.Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. RetrievedApril 5, 2013.
^"2013 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. February 19, 2013.Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. RetrievedApril 5, 2013.
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