Jose Fernandez was just 24 when he died in a tragic boating accident in Miami, Florida. When I heard the news of his death, I almost broke out in tears, not because I knew him, but because everybody in the baseball community knew how great a pitcher and young man he was. On September 25, 2016, baseball lost one of its best up and coming stars.

Fernandez was a phenomenal young starting pitcher. He had announced one week before his death that he and his wife were going to have a baby girl, making his unfortunate demise even more tragic.

The Miami Marlins, the team he had played on, had a game scheduled on the date his death occurred.This game was canceled. The next, day the Marlins were to play the New York Mets. Before the game, both teams paid respects to their fallen man by writing his name on their ball caps and spraying his number behind the pitcher’s mound. The Marlins also wore their black jerseys and all wore his name and number on their backs as a sign of respect.

Both teams shed a few tears, but in the end, had to play through the pain of losing a fellow player. The first half inning went by fast, with nobody reaching base. Then it was the Marlins’ time to bat. Leading off the bottom of the first was Dee Gordon. When he came to the plate, he hit from the right side as a tribute to Jose. After the first pitch, he switched back to his natural side. On the third pitch, Gordon took a hardy swing and sent the ball into the second deck of the right field bleachers, his first homerun of the season.

This was a touching moment for all watching, as Gordon circled the bases with tears running down his face. When he touched home plate, he pounded his chest three times and looked up into the sky. The Marlins later went on to win the game 7-3. The Marlins would finish up the season in third place and seven and a half games out of the wild card spot.

The whole Marlins team walked out to the pitching mound and paid one last tribute to Jose, then tossed all of their hats onto the mound.

Just four days after this freak accident, Jose Fernandez was buried. Three hundred attended this funeral. First-year manager and former Major League Baseball player Don Mattingly made a speech saying that Jose played the game like a young kid who just loved being out on the field.

While losing such a dynamic player is a tragedy, we will just have to move on and remember all the highlights of his life. Fernandez had the ERA, earned run average, of 2.86 and the total of 253 strikeouts, second place for most, behind Max Scherzer. He was born to be a superstar.