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Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria retires Jose Fernandez’s number

By Matt Whitener

Sep 26, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; A memorial of signed shirts and hats are placed outside a gate at Marlins Park in honor of Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez who was killed in a boating accident. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; A memorial of signed shirts and hats are placed outside a gate at Marlins Park in honor of Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez who was killed in a boating accident. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria takes departed pitcher’s number out of circulation for team; Fernandez becomes first player to ever receive honor.

Monday night, every member of the Miami Marlins will wear number 16 in honor of the fallen Jose Fernandez. But after Monday, no one ever will again.

While speaking to the media today, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria stated that Fernandez’s number 16 will be taken out of circulation by the club. And while he stopped short of saying that the club will formally retire the number at this time, it will not ever be eligible to be reissued.

"“There are plenty of numbers they can wear, but not that one” said Loria. “We’ll let them wear triple digits if we have to.”"

It is the latest –and perhaps strongest— in the number of tributes have followed the announcement of the death of Fernandez yesterday morning. Among them has been a moment of silence at every Major League Baseball stadium on Sunday, a notion that the neighboring Miami Dolphins followed suit with as well prior to their game versus the Cleveland Browns. In Chicago, the Cubs pulled every other pitcher’s number from their scoreboard on Sunday Night, choosing to only display Fernandez’s No. 16 next to Miami’s cancelled box score for the day.

Meanwhile, at Marlins Park, the team displayed Fernandez’s jersey number in the dirt of the pitcher’s mound, while his teammates brought his hat to the field and paid silent tribute.

Other teams that have been faced with such tragedies in the past have also taken the route of either officially or unofficially retiring the departed player’s jersey. The New York Yankees retired Thurman Munson’s No. 15 after the catcher was killed in a plane accident in 1979. The St. Louis Cardinals have not reissued pitcher Darryl Kile’s No. 57 since the pitcher died suddenly in 2002, nor have the Anaheim Angels reissued Nick Adenhart’s No. 34 since his death as a victim of a drunken driver in 2009.

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If Fernandez’s number is officially retired by the Marlins, he would be the first player in franchise history to receive the honor. To date, only No. 42 has been retired by the Marlins, which is retired around all of Major League Baseball in memory of Jackie Robinson.

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For Loria specifically, this is a very strong statement, as the oft-controversial owner of the Marlins has not always acted in a fashion that portrays him in a positive light. It was just last winter that he was embroiled heated trade debates revolving around him floating Fernandez’s name on the open market, to the dismay of the south Florida native.

However, it is all water under the bridge now with the tragedy of the loss of the pitcher yesterday. And it would be hard pressed to find a player worthy of donning the number in Miami, much less willing to do so. This is a class move from the organization in a time where the people of Miami and fans around the country are in need of some positivity within the situation.

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