User:GhostRiver/fernandez

José Delfín Fernández Gómez (July 31, 1992 – September 25, 2016) was a Cuban-American professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016. In four seasons with the Marlins, Fernández was a two-time MLB All-Star, as well as the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year.

Early life
Fernández was born on July 31, 1992, in Santa Clara, Cuba. His father left shortly after Fernández was born, and he was raised by his mother, Maritza Gómez, and grandmother Olga. He was childhood friends with future Major League Baseball (MLB) player Aledmys Díaz, who lived in the same neighborhood., and was introduced to baseball by Díaz's father and uncle.


 * https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17633453/gone-too-soon-jose-fernandez-leaves-lasting-legacy-the-field
 * https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2011/07/08/alonso-s-jose-fernandez-named-to-maxpreps-all-american-team/
 * https://www.cincinnati.com/story/redsblog/2015/07/11/club-was-prepared-to-sign-him-in-2011-if-he-was-ruled-ineligible-to-play-high-school-ball/30022699/

Draft and minor leagues (2011–2012)
The Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Fernández 14th overall in the 2011 MLB Draft. At the time, he had committed to playing college baseball for the South Florida Bulls. Fernández almost went unsigned, as he and the Marlins did not come to terms on a $2 million signing bonus until one hour before the August 16 deadline. Due to his late signing, Fernández could only make two pitching appearances before the end of the 2011 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) season. He made his professional baseball debut with the Gulf Coast League Marlins on August 27, striking out two batters and allowing one unearned run on one hit in two innings against the Gulf Coast League Mets. His other start came with the Class A Short Season Jamestown Jammers, where Fernández allowed five earned runs on four hits and struck out four batters in $2 1/3$ innings against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Fernández began the 2012 season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League. On April 24, he pitched the first six innings of a combined no-hitter against the Hickory Crawdads, the team's first no-hitter since 2004.


 * 2012 Greensboro Grasshoppers
 * 2012 Jupiter Hammerheads

Miami Marlins (2013–2016)

 * 2013
 * 2014

On May 9, Fernández had an unusually poor outing against the San Diego Padres: he allowed five earned runs in as many innings, including two home runs, while his fastball velocity dropped from 95.6 mph in the first four innings to 92.2 mph in the fifth. At the time, his performance was attributed to illness: Fernández had reported feeling ill while warming up, and he vomited once during the game.


 * 2015
 * 2016

Personal life
While rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery, Fernández became a United States citizen on April 24, 2015. He delivered a keynote address at the citizenship ceremony, and the other immigrants in attendance received tickets to two Marlins games during the 2015 season.

Fernández began dating Alejandra Baleato Marichal in 2009, and the two were married on December 2, 2012, in Tampa. The couple separated around 2014 and later divorced.

Death

 * https://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/in-miami-players-fans-share-memories-shed-tears-over-jose-fernandez/2295348/

Memorials

 * https://www.si.com/mlb/2016/09/29/jose-fernandez-high-school-memorial-jersey-taken
 * https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/09/27/jose-fernandez-resolution-marlins-florida-marco-rubio-bill-nelson/91174004/

Honors
Shortly after Fernández's death, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told reporters that the team would retire his No. 16 jersey. As of 2021, the only number retired by the Marlins is 42, which was retired for every MLB team to honor Jackie Robinson.