Miami Marlins are erecting Jose Fernandez sculpture

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has said the team has a sculpture in the works that will honor the late Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez.

Loria recently announced the team’s plans to honor Fernandez with a sculpture that will be placed somewhere around the front of Marlins Park.

Jose Fernandez tragically passed away in the early hours of September 26, 2016 from trauma that stemmed from a boating accident in which he was maneuvering. It not only devastated his family and teammates, but his death impacted baseball fans all over the world, as he was one of the game’s most impressive and charismatic players.

Fernandez was an unstoppable force when he was last on the mound in 2016, where he accumulated 253 strikeouts and a ERA that stood at 2.86.

It wasn’t just his impressive play that made him such a joy to watch, but the way he always seemed like he was having a blast playing the game he loved. Loria told Jerry Crasnick from ESPN of his plans for the sculpture in a recent interview where he said “We’re going to cast it in bronze and paint the glove the red-orange that Jose would like, and that will be the only color on it.”

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Loria plans to make the sculpture of Fernandez very large, and when he was asked why he simply said “Because Jose was larger than life.” The sculpture is currently in the process of being put together, and should be welcomed with open arms at Marlins Park.

Loria also announced that the plan is to potentially have the sculpture built, and placed in front of the ballpark toward the end of the current 2017 season. Although Fernandez’s time with the Marlins was brief, the impact he had on the team and the Miami community will never be forgotten.