Marlins and fans pay tribute to Jose Fernandez

Following the tragic death of Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlin players and fans pay tribute to the young ace with a powerful showing of love and respect.

On Monday night, South Florida fans paid tribute to a man with an exceptional talent and a larger than life personality. He was described by many as grateful and caring, but most of all he was the reason that many Marlins fans watched baseball.

Goodbyes are never easy, but the organization took a horrible tragedy and turned it into a beautiful sendoff. Every player donned the number 16 to pay their respects to their fallen brother, while faithful fans offered kind words and emotionally goodbyes.

Marlins players huddled around the mound, a white number 16 painted perfectly in the clay, as outfielder Giancarlo Stanton offered these words of encouragement.

“We’ll all come together and help each other out,” he said per USA Today. “We’re going to do this somehow. Just put your hand on somebody if somebody is struggling, pick them up. And we’re going to find a way to do this. I love all you guys.”

As he spoke confidently, with tears in his eyes, it summed up the pain that people were feeling.

It was a night of tribute from beginning to end with nearly all pregame and game-time celebrations kept to a minimum. During the seventh inning stretch, the video board cycled pictures of Fernandez as a trumpeter played a tearful rendition of “Take me out to the ballgame.”

Emotions were high and sadness had never been higher. The night was filled with emotional ups-and-downs as people struggled to find clarity for their loss, but came up empty.

Then the big moment of the night happened as Dee Gordon blasted a home run to the upper deck in right field. It came on the first pitch, in the bottom of the first inning, and it was his way of paying tribute to Fernandez.

Gordon’s eyes were filled with tears as he rounded the bases. His first shot of the year was a decisive blast, and the crowd roared in the special moment. When he got to home plate, his teammates embraced his moment with hugs and tears of emotions.

The tribute-filled evening was capped off with a return to the mound. The team placed hats over the number 16 and pointed to the sky for the final goodbye of the night.

Two days after the emotional tribute, fans and players said their last-minute goodbyes. They touched the hearse, they touched the coffin with his jersey on it, and they embraced one last time with tearful stares.

Though Fernandez was still young and early in his career, he will be remembered as possibly the most dominant pitcher at home in the history of baseball, with an amazing 29-2 record and a 1.49 ERA in 42 starts.

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The world will always remember number 16 for his dominance, but also for his playful heart and kind, grateful soul. Rest in peace Jose Fernandez, your soul will never fully leave the majors, and your heart will be carried by many forever.