Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on PinterestEmail to someone

Jose Fernandez was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2011, and played his first big league game two years later at the rip old age of 20. The stats he amassed over the course of his brief four-year MLB career were unprecedented by any right-handed pitcher since World War II. Just how dominant was he? He lost only two of 42 starts made at home.

GONE TOO SOON

R.I.P. Miami Marlins pitcher José Fernández 1992-2016

On Sunday, Fernandez’s clear Hall of Fame trajectory was cut short by a fatal high-speed boating accident on a jetty off Miami Beach. The shock of his sudden loss left manager Don Mattingly emotionally remembering the Cuban ex-pat’s child-like passion for the game.

''You just see that little kid that you see when you watch kids play Little League or something like that. That's the joy that Jose played with and the passion he felt about playing.''

— Marlins manager Don Mattingly, on Jose Fernandez

I'm still waiting to wake up from this nightmare. I lost my brother today and can't quite comprehend it. The shock is overwhelming. What he meant to me , our team, the city of Miami, Cuba & everyone else in the world that his enthusiasm/heart has touched can never be replaced. I can't fathom what his family is going through because We, as his extended Family are a wreck. I gave him the nickname Niño because he was just a young boy Amongst men , yet those men could barely compete with him . He had his own level, one that was changing the game. EXTRAORDINARY, as a person before the player. Yet still just a kid, who's joy lit up the stadium more than lights could. A kid whose time came too soon. One that I will miss & never forget. Rest In Peace Niño, Jose Fernandez 🙏🏽

A photo posted by Giancarlo Stanton (@giancarlo818) on

Teammate Giancarlo Stanton took to Instagram to share his thoughts on Fernandez’s untimely passing and echoed Mattingly’s boyish characterization of the pitcher. Afterward, a truckload of tributes from MLB’s best have continued to come in on Twitter.

REMEMBERING JOSE FERNANDEZ

The batters that Fernandez frequently flummoxed at the plate were left rueing that they were never again get to feel the heat coming off of one of his fastballs.

And fellow pitchers mourned the loss of one from their ranks…

Even a basketball Hall of Famer and All Star took note…