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The Miami Marlins held a press conference on Sunday afternoon to respond to the death and celebrate the life of Jose Fernandez. The press conference featured the Marlins’ roster lined up behind manager Don Mattingly, president David Samson, GM Michael Hill, and third baseman Martin Prado.
Samson led off the press conference and spoke the longest. While this is a sensitive subject, he tried his best to sum up the life of Hernandez, and offered a kind word about what the franchise’s ace meant to everyone.
“There’s not one player missing right now,” Samson said. “The entire team has stayed and we just want to say to his family, if they’re listening, that this is not about today or tomorrow. Jose is a member of this family for all-time.”
Additionally, Samson said that “His story is representative of a story of hope and of love and of faith, and no one will ever let that story die,” before remarking on the power of Fernandez’s personality and his love of his family.
Mattingly, Hill, and Prado also offered emotional remembrances of the 24-year-old star. None of them could hold back tears when they spoke of Fernandez, especially Mattingly, who remarked on the youthful exuberance with which Fernandez played.
Marlins players stood behind the four. Understandably, everyone looked completely devastated by the news because he was such a beloved member of the community and the organization.
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Marlins pitcher Mike Dunn held Fernandez’s jersey for the duration of the presser.
Mike Dunn holding Jose' jersey pic.twitter.com/G9L82cvqlw
— Craig Davis (@CraigDavisRuns) September 25, 2016
Fernandez’s death hit the entire sports world really, really hard. These people were sad that a good pitcher passed away, but more than that, they were sad that a genuinely good person lost their life at the age of 24. This press conference touched on the former, but for the most part, it gave us a long look at how big of an impact Fernandez left on those who were around him every day.
