Today, most of the stories are going to be about Jose Fernandez. It doesn’t happen often that a young star is taken from us, but when it does, it hits the baseball community hard. I must say, I even feel guilty about that article I wrote just last Thursday about whether the Cubs should trade for him. It’s ridiculous: there was nothing in that article that was anything but praise for Fernandez and there’s no cause and effect between me writing about him and his passing. I did write about him as a commodity to be bought and sold, but we do that to everyone in this game. And now he’s gone.
So there’s a lot of stories about Fernandez. Read whichever ones you want from whichever writers you prefer. As many as you can until you can’t take any more.
- Jeff Passan writes that Fernandez’s life was the American dream.
- Dieter Kurtenbach also calls Fernandez the American dream.
- Jon Heyman notes that baseball brought joy to Fernandez and Fernandez gave joy back to baseball.
- Tom Verducci looks at Fernandez’s career and notes that he’s the youngest All-Star to die.
- Jerry Crasnick looks at the legacy that Fernandez will leave on and off the field.
- Ashley Varela also looks at Fernandez’s life, concentrating on his time off the field. Fernandez wasn’t a saint, but as Varela quotes someone in the piece, the worst thing you could say about Fernandez was that sometimes he acted his age.
- Grant Brisbee calls Fernandez “pure joy.”
- That’s the word Paul Swydan uses as well: “joy.”
- Anthony Castrovince also says that “joy” will be Fernandez’s legacy.
- Rohan Nadkarni got joy from watching the joy Fernandez gave to others.
- Mauricio Rubio says that Fernandez won’t be forgotten.
- Casey McGehee tells the story of Fernandez’s close relationship with McGehee’s son, who has cerebral palsy. It’s what McGehee will remember about him.
- Ben Lindbergh compares Fernandez’s death to those of Buddy Holly and James Dean: A budding superstar who left unanswered what might have been.
- Jayson Stark looks at what Fernandez’s career might have been like had he not been taken so young.
- Joe Posnanski also focuses on where Fernandez came from and what might have been.
- Ken Rosenthal says that Fernandez’s charisma means that his passing will leave a bigger hole than most in the baseball community.
- Mike Lupica is just heartbroken.
- His manager, Don Mattingly, broke down when discussing Fernandez.
- Eduardo Perez knew Fernandez from his days with the Marlins, and he gave a heartfelt and tear-filled tribute to the young star.
- Alan Gomez notes that the death of Fernandez is devastating for the Cuban-American community of South Florida that he was a part of.
- Dan Le Batard says that Fernandez represented freedom for the Cuban-American community every time he pitched.
- Pedro Martinez said that Fernandez had more talent than he had.
- Yasiel Puig says he used to receive advice from Fernandez about how to be a better person.
- MLB teams paid tribute to Fernandez.
- David Ortiz cancelled his retirement ceremony at Tropicana Field out of respect for the memory of Fernandez. Ortiz was Fernandez’s favorite ballplayer when he was still in Cuba.
- Bill Baer notes that despite all these tributes, when he was alive, Fernandez was firmly involved in the baseball “culture war.”
- Jorge L. Ortiz notes that the death of a young, charismatic Cuban-American superstar like Fernandez is huge blow for all of MLB.
- Josh Levin goes as far to say that the way Fernandez played the game was the future of baseball. He also notes that Bryce Harper said that about Fernandez this past April, so this isn’t just grief talking.
- Michael Baumann goes even further, noting that Fernandez was not only the future of baseball, but he represented the future of America.
- Craig Calcaterra sadly reminds us that Fernandez’s death is not without precedent. From Roberto Clemente to Lyman Bostock to Thurman Munson to Steve Olin and Tim Crews and Darryl Kile and several others.
- Not that it really matters, but it has been confirmed that Fernandez died from the impact of the crash and not from drowning.
- Chris Cwik wonders if Fernandez might not win the Cy Young Award posthumously. He’s certainly a candidate and he might get some sympathy votes. You have to go deep into advanced stats to call Fernandez the best pitcher in the NL this season, but it wouldn’t be an outrage if he won.
- On to happier things. Keith Olbermann writes that however good a person you think Vin Scully is, he’s a better person than that.
- Hector Becerra notes that he learned English from listening to Scully and that Scully and the Dodgers made him feel American.
- The Dodgers paid tribute to Scully on Friday and he said goodbye to the fans in a touching ceremony.
- Scully says he’s enjoyed his final season behind the mic.
- Scully went out with a bang at Dodger Stadium as his last call was a walkoff home run that clinched the NL West title.
- The Mariners suspended Steve Clevenger for the rest of the season. Mike Bates thinks the Mariners should get no credit for suspending an injured backup catcher.
- Benches cleared in yesterday’s Pirates/Nationals game.
- Two Red Sox relievers combined to strike out a record 11 batters in a row. As a team, the Red Sox tied a team record for striking out 21 Rays in nine innings and added two more in the tenth inning.
- On the other side, the Reds starting pitching rotation is historically awful, writes Zach Kram.
- This pitch by Bryan Mitchell may be the worst called ball ever. Seriously—it was dead in the middle of the strike zone. It’s probably all his catcher’s fault.
- Curtis Granderson is on the way to setting a record for fewest RBI in history for a hitter with 30 home runs.
- The Royals are coming to grips with the idea that they won’t repeat this season.
- Jonah Keri lists nine players who could play a critical role in who the NL Wild Card teams will be.
- Grant Brisbee explains that this season’s Giants are the reason that teams overpay for relief aces. I’ve met Grant—he’s a nice guy and a terrific writer. But watching him react to the Giants self-destruction in the second half has just been one of the most enjoyable non-Cubs things this season. And I like the Giants! But it’s like reading Dorothy Parker theater reviews from the 1920s. Despite all that, if the season ended this morning, they’d still be in the playoffs, despite playing like the Twins since the All-Star Break.
- Mark Saxon asks Cardinals GM John Mozeliak if there is anything the Cardinals can learn from the Cubs. “Try not to suck” would be a good place to start.
- Jeff Passan has 25 things you probably didn’t know about baseball this season.
- Adrian Beltre spent his off-day on Saturday giving signs from the dugout.
- Ken Rosenthal thinks Indians manager Terry Francona is a perfect blend of statistical awareness and old-school management.
- And finally, Josh Levin looks back at the Moneyball revolution through the late, lamented website Fire Joe Morgan. Levin thinks there is no clear winner in the statistical revolution.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. It has to be. We’ll all be better tomorrow. Rest in peace, Jose.