JUPITER, Fla. — Five months ago, Marlins ace Jose Fernandez and two others died in a horrific boating accident. As the Marlins go through their workouts in their first spring training since the young star’s death, Don Mattingly wants his players to remember one thing:
How much fun Hernandez had playing the game.
The end of last season took care of a big part of the grieving process. Then more devastating news came when the toxicology report in November said Fernandez was legally drunk and had cocaine in his system at the time of the accident.
All that is a lot for a team to take in, but Mattingly said he sees his players moving forward.
“These guys came together last year over it,’’ Mattingly told The Post on Monday at the Roger Dean Stadium complex. “That whole situation, everything that’s happened, you can’t really explain it.
“It’s a life experience and there is no handbook, no playbook that helps you get through it. You just go through it.
“You gotta keep moving,’’ the manager said. “That’s all you can do.’’
One year ago at this time, Fernandez was running around this complex laughing and having fun with teammates and family members. He enjoyed every minute on the playing field and that is what Mattingly wants his players to remember.
Remember that Jose.
Take from that experience. Make the game fun. It’s a job, yes, but don’t make baseball a burden.
“There is a way to move forward with respect,’’ Mattingly said. “What we take from Jose is important, and for me, what I’d like guys to take is that joy that he played with, that little kid in there that we all had at one time.’’
Donnie Baseball did.
Fernandez was magnificent on the mound and players can’t be as talented as he was but they can take away that joy. Play the game like the little kid in the No. 16 uniform did.
That is what is important to remember. Not how he died, but how Jose Fernandez lived on the baseball field.
Mattingly, 55, is convinced that by playing the game with more joy, the game becomes easier. A burden is lifted.
“This game at the pro level,’’ Mattingly told me, “sometimes it turns into a business.’’
Dellin Betances learned that lesson over the weekend with the Yankees.
“When you hear all the business talk and the agents and everything,’’ Mattingly said. “The financial end, all that stuff. The top-paid players, everything that happens. Sometimes we forget how much fun the game can be and I just want us to keep that thought that this is still a little kid’s game. That’s how you’ve got to feel when you play it.’’
That is his central message.
“I know the game is refined and all that other stuff is there but just that feeling of that joy that you had when you first played the game. Jose was always great with the fans, and the kids, and most of all, he loved pitching. He loved it.’’
The Marlins could use a little joy. This is a franchise that has had some rough times, and is now up for sale.
And the Marlins might be better than people expect, they have a strong lineup and they have slugger Giancarlo Stanton. He played 119 games last season, 74 the year before that — still he managed to hit 27 home runs in each of those seasons and has 208 home runs over his seven-year career.
He has to stay on the field.
“We know what we want to accomplish as a team, I like the character of our club, we’ve kept our team together because we think we can win with them,’’ Mattingly said, insisting the sale of the team will not bother his players. “That really has nothing to do with us. We have stuff going on all the time. We have to get ready and play games. To me, it’s really that simple.
“I think that’s what pros do.’’
That, and along the way, play the game with more joy.
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