Recent Posts
- Are You Ready for Spirit Week 2024?!?! BY ISABELLA CAROLOW
- Extra Schoolwork During Advisory??? Perspectives from Students and Teachers on SAT Prep BY SAMUEL HIERS
- Embracing Perspective: Finding Beauty in the Ordinary and Extraordinary BY SAMANTHA MIGNANELLI
- The Taylor Swift “Thing” BY KEELY SULLIVAN
- CHS Renovations BY HAZEL DUROSS
Recent Comments
- Maureen Couture on Quality Education Comes in Many Forms BY Justin Curran
- Gwen Schumacher on Quality Education Comes in Many Forms BY Justin Curran
- chakal on How to Prepare for Final Exams BY Mrs. Murgida (from CHS Guidance)
- MAJ P. on The Healthy Benefits of Music that is Surely “Pop” for the Soul! BY Samuel Hiers
- MAJ P. on Planning for a Life in the U.S. Military BY Matthew Capwell
Archives
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- June 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- May 2021
- March 2021
- May 2020
- February 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- December 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- October 2014
Remembering Jose Fernandez BY Daniel Lopes
José was a ball of energy, always running around and smiling and celebrating emphatically. He was a greatly respectful man, with Mets manager Terry Collins commending him for his treatment of staff and other players. He was a well loved player by almost everyone that met him, and respected by many.
Remembering José Fernández (1992-2016)
By Daniel Lopes
I truly cannot believe this is an article I am writing in this very year, at this very moment. The year of 2016 has seen plenty of our pop culture stars pass, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Gene Wilder, simply to name a few. The loss of Jose Fernandez hits equally as hard as all of them. Bowie, Rickman, and Wilder lived rather long lives, with vaunted careers spanning decades. Unfortunately, José Fernández was only 24 years old, in his 4th year in the MLB, when a boating accident cut his career and life short. But he did not fail in leaving his mark on this great pastime we call baseball.
Fernández, a 2-time All Star, was the Rookie of the Year for the NL in 2013, going 12-6 with a jaw-dropping 2.19 ERA. José fell on hard times in 2014, undergoing Tommy John surgery, but fought hard and came back for 11 starts in 2015, going 6-1 with a 2.92 ERA, with a very good 79 strikeouts in just 64.2 innings. He seemed to be in full force in 2016, and was a Cy Young contender for most of the year, with 253 strikeouts in 182.1 innings a whopping league leading 12.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. In the very last start of his life, against the NL East leading Washington Nationals, José dominated, giving up 0 runs through 8 innings with 12 strikeouts. But this article isn’t about the stats, it’s about the man himself.
José was a ball of energy, always running around and smiling and celebrating emphatically. He was a greatly respectful man, with Mets manager Terry Collins commending him for his treatment of staff and other players. He was a well loved player by almost everyone that met him, and respected by many. José battled his way to the U.S, unsuccessfully attempting to defect from Cuba 3 times. José spent time in jail each and every time. On the successful defection, José saved his mother from drowning. They made it, and José was able to go to high school in the U.S until he was drafted in the first round in 2011 by the (then) Florida Marlins, now Miami Marlins. He made his MLB debut 2 years later, and as the stats from earlier showed, dazzled his way through the rest of his career. José leaves behind his girlfriend, pregnant with their first child.
One particular CHS faculty member, English teacher Mr. Pendola, was significantly affected by this tragedy. In a sit down with him, we talked about the tragedy and he, admittedly a man of little emotion, was struck by the loss. “I thought he was fake, ‘cause I didn’t think you could be that genuine, you could be that in the moment, that real and accessible. I really thought it was fake”. He brought to light the fact that through all the statistics being thrown out, above all else, people were recognizing his character; how genuine and good of a man he was, something seen not too often in the world of sports. Even a week after the tragedy, when this conversation occurred, strong emotions were still felt, both by myself and Mr. Pendola, for a man we had never met, yet who had been so polarizing that you felt like you’d known him for years.
This loss has broken the hearts of everyone in the baseball community, and many players and teams outside of baseball, as the Miami Dolphins will have a moment of silence before their game. As I am writing this, I am watching the New York Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies, both teams in the same division as the Marlins, therefore having a lot of experience with José. The Mets made a special Fernández Mets jersey that is hung in their dugout, and while speaking about him, Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez broke out into tears, while leaving me on the verge of tears. He may be gone, but he will never, under any account be forgot
Rest In Peace José Fernández, we will keep you in our memory.