St. Louis Cardinals: There is crying in baseball, RIP Jose Fernandez

The tragic news of the passing of a young Marlins star greeted us all this Sunday morning and St. Louis Cardinals fans were instantly reminded of a loss of their own.

I never thought that 2016 would be filled with such disappointing and sad news on Sundays yet this year has presented many instances of this.  First, I was greeted on a Sunday with the news of senseless violence at a Miami nightclub.  Today, I was greeted with the sad news of the passing of Jose Fernandez.  St. Louis Cardinals fans surely experienced PTSD at this and thought immediately of Oscar Taveras.

The news early Sunday was that young phenom, Jose Fernandez, had died in a boating accident off the coast of Miami.  Reports indicate that the Coast Guard found an overturned nautical vehicle around 3AM Sunday.

Just short of two years ago, on October 26, 2014, the news was released that the young St. Louis Cardinals phenom, Oscar Taveras, had died in a car accident.  Reports indicated that Taveras’ car had left the roadway and killed both him and his 18-year-old girlfriend.

Fernandez was twenty-four years old and had a bright future ahead of him.  He was noted as one of the up-and-coming pitchers in the National League and had been selected as an all-star twice in his young career and was selected as the 2013 NL rookie of the year.

Taveras was twenty-two at his death and also had a bright future ahead of him.  He was noted as one of the top prospects in baseball in 2014 and had amassed a mere 80 games in his rookie season of 2014.  In his first at-bat, as every St. Louis Cardinals fan will remember, Oscar blasted a home run showing just what promise laid in waiting.

The sadness shown above illustrates the similarities.  At this time, however, the instance of alcohol or drugs remains a large difference.  Much to the dismay of the Cardinals organization, players, and fans, Taveras’ death was linked to alcohol.  As of now reports do not indicate that Fernandez’s death is connected to drugs or alcohol.

In 2014, the St. Louis Cardinals were no longer in the post season race when the news was released of Taveras’ death.  Game five of the 2014 World Series took place that night as planned.  Today, however, the Marlins contest against the Braves has been canceled in light of this tragic news.

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Tom Hanks is well-known for his quote in the movie “A League of Their Own” where he said, “There’s no crying in baseball,” but in the case of the loss of Taveras and in the case of this morning’s news of the loss of Fernandez there most certainly is crying in baseball.  Fans, players, and organizations are rocked by the news and plenty of tears are falling.

The St. Louis Cardinals organization and players- specifically Carlos Martinez– have memorialized Taveras with number 18 patches.  The organization has also remembered Oscar by cutting his number in the grass at times.  Today, the Marlins have posted the number 16 around their stadium despite the canceled game.

As it relates to Fernandez, Aledmys Diaz has a direct connection having grown up with Jose and having played ball with him as a youths.  Moreover, Diaz’s father is credited with being the one who taught baseball to Fernandez.  This is surely a sad day for Diaz and many others in and around baseball.

Next: Samurai Jack

Baseball is more than winning and losing.  It is greater than twenty-seven outs per team.  Baseball is greater than a postseason push or a wild card hunt or a no-no or a perfect game.  Baseball is about hope and when something horrific like the loss of a young player occurs the world weeps.