To some Mets, Jose Fernandez was a friend, to others little more than an acquaintance, to all a player to be respected and liked. So they reflected on the talent, the personality, the joy that Fernandez gave to baseball after the tragic news of his death numbed the baseball world.
“The loss of Fernandez was very tough, even for everyone here that wasn’t very, very good or close friends. We all knew how charismatic he was and how much the game meant to him,” Yoenis Cespedes said.
“Not only a great player, he was a great person, a great human being,” said Rene Rivera.
So before the Mets went out and trashed Philadelphia, 17-0, Cespedes, who like Fernandez emigrated from Cuba, hung a “Fernandez 16” Mets jersey in the dugout. Cespedes said the jersey was the idea of owner Jeff Wilpon. But Cespedes insisted that he hang the shirt.
“He had the jersey made … and I decided that I wanted to be the one to go out there and put it up, just to let everyone know how much this loss meant to us,” Cespedes said.
“Our guys, they’re a special group,” said Terry Collins, who will address his team about the tragedy Monday when they play in Miami. “We wanted to honor Jose, so we put his jersey in our dugout. … All the guys walked by and gave it a tap.”
Collins, who selected Fernandez for the National League All-Star staff, asked at his customary pregame media gathering that all questions be focused on Fernandez, 24, killed in a boating accident in Miami early Sunday.
“On behalf of the Mets organization and certainly all of the players and coaches, we’re all saddened by the news. This is not only one of the greatest pitchers in the modern game, but one of the finest young men you’d ever meet,” Collins said.
The Mets conducted a moment of silence with fans before the game. Jose Reyes, a former Marlin, was obviously devastated by the loss and could not speak about it even after the game.
Fernandez was originally scheduled to pitch Sunday at home against Atlanta but was pushed back until Monday when the Mets start a three-game series in Miami.
“It’ll be hard for all of baseball,” Collins said of Monday. “It’s going to be a tough night for everybody. But we’ll get through because we have to. … Everybody that’s ever played the game knows it has to go on.”
“One of those games that I’m not sure we look forward to playing,” Collins said.
Fernandez played the game with passion and joy, and that was how the Mets will remember him.
“He was a great guy to watch pitch, compete, one of the best pitchers in the game,” Jacob deGrom said. “I don’t think anybody brought more energy out there.”
Wilmer Flores said Fernandez brought out the best in him.
“Whenever we were gonna to face him, you knew it was not gonna be a fun night,” Flores said. “You want to get a hit so bad because he’s so competitive…And he was good. One of the best sliders I’ve ever seen.
“It’s just devastating. There’s no words to say what you feel,” Flores said.
Collins recalled a young man who treated the kitchen staff respectfully at the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field. And Collins remembered Fernandez’s major league debut: against the Mets, April 7, 2013 at Citi Field.
“We had not seen him in spring training,” Collins said. “We’d only heard about him. When the first pitch left his hand, the first thought was, ‘Oh, wow, this is something special.’
“He loved to be out there and it was his stage. I wish more guys were like that and more guys really had fun like he did playing the game.”
Noah Syndergaard said he knew Fernandez as an All-Star teammate but, “It was just like you’d known the guy for 10 years.
“I’m still in disbelief,” Syndergaard said. “I feel like he could have had some serious Hall of Fame numbers, but unfortunately we’re not going to be able to witness that.”