Florida Marlins pitchers and catchers report to spring training today in Jupiter.
4 Days Ago
3 Days Ago
2 Weeks Ago
There will be one pitcher missing.
Jose Fernandez’s extraordinary star, his passion, won’t be there.
He died on a jetty off Miami’s South Beach last September, along with two other man in a boating accident.
The story hasn’t disappeared. It hovers over the Marlins and baseball and countless lives.
It has become complicated. It could taint a legacy.
There was tragedy. Then there was the toxicology report that found that Fernandez had alcohol and cocaine in his system at the time of his death. Now there is the lawsuit, filed last week against Fernandez’s estate by the families of the two other men who died. The homicide report still to be released.
And any day now, Fernandez’s girlfriend, Maria Arias, will give birth to their child, a girl. TMZ is tracking it all.
There are so many stories here, and there is heartbreak in every one of them.
Tampa attorney Ralph Fernandez, who is representing the Fernandez estate, and who was Jose Fernandez’s friend, said he remains confident that the homicide report will show that Jose Fernandez was not driving the boat that night. And that Jose’s daughter will inherit the bulk of his estate, estimated to be between $2 million and $3 million.
PHOTO PROVIDED
A friend and attorney for Jose Fernandez’s estate says the mother of the late Florida Marlins pitcher texts him regularly, sending him photographs from the jetty where Jose and three others died in a boating crash. "She sends me pictures when it’s raining, when the rocks are slick, when the tide is high," Ralph Fernandez said. "She goes to the rocks. I’m concerned about her safety. Jose Fernandez’s mom goes out on the jetty. She feels some connection to where her son died. She asks me how do you think it was at the end?"
Ralph Fernandez mentioned Jose’s mother, Maritza Gomez Fernandez.
Ralph Fernandez said Maritza texts him every day and that she sends photos off her phone.
"She goes almost every single day to the rocks," Ralph Fernandez said. "She texts me from the jetty."
Where the boat crashed. Where her "Delfy" died — Delfy for Delfin, Jose’s middle name.
"She sends me pictures when it’s raining, when the rocks are slick, when the tide is high," Ralph Fernandez said. "She goes to the rocks. I’m concerned about her safety. Jose Fernandez’s mom goes out on the jetty. She feels some connection to where her son died. She asks me how do you think it was at the end?"
One of the photos from the jetty was sent Christmas morning. The sun was coming up.
It’s beautiful, peaceful – and haunting. The sun was coming up.
Pitchers and catchers report to Marlins camp today.
This season, they’ll wear patches with the No 16 – Jose’s number — on their chest, close to their heart.
Jose Fernandez’s daughter will be born any day.
His mother keeps finding her way to the rocks.
Contact Martin Fennelly at mfennelly@tampabay.com or (813) 731-8029. Follow @mjfennelly.
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