- It's September 26, 2016,
we're at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida
with Bartolo Colon pitching for the Mets
in the bottom of the first.
With no runs on the board, the Marlins lead off hitter,
Dee Gordon waits for the 2-0 pitch.
Look I know on paper the stakes are low,
there's no championship up for grabs,
we're only three outs into the game,
but this next pitch will become part of a moment
so much more impactful than even
a World Series would be for Miami.
To appreciate something that's bigger than just one game
or sports in general, we need to rewind.
Gordon is about to have one of the most memorable
at bats of his career but it's coming during a season
that he'd probably rather look past.
Not because of anything he did or didn't do on the field,
more so because of the fact that he couldn't
be on the field for much of 2016.
In April he received an 80 game suspension which was a big
blow to a Marlins team that managed just 71 wins
a year before with Gordon playing in 145 games.
And by playing, I mean he dominated.
It took him just 28 games to record his 50th hit
and by season's end he led the national league in hits,
batting average, and stolen bases.
Which all paired nicely with his first Gold Glove award.
Doing so in his first season in Miami, he was part of a core
making the Marlins fun or at least watchable again.
What Gordon lacked in power he more than made up for
in speed, which he showed off on June 30, 2015 against
the Giants when he legged out an inside the park home run.
This was his first homer of the season
and one of just eight that he would have in his five year
career entering 2016.
He didn't add to that total in the first 21 games
of the season before getting suspended,
nor has he in the 53 since his return
and while his numbers have slipped from the year before,
considering he was other worldly in 2015,
Gordon's doing just fine.
He showed very little rust from the 80 games off.
The trouble is with or without Gordon,
the Marlins are all but mathematically eliminated
from the post season for the 13th straight season.
It'll even be a struggle to finish 500.
And considering who they're facing tonight,
it will be just a bit tougher.
Partially because Colon is famously big
and even more famously sexy, which can cause a distraction,
but also he's a good pitcher
and with the start tonight, he and the Mets have a bit
more to play for as they look to lock up a wildcard spot
for their first post season appearance since last year.
If they can, it'll be New York's first back to back
playoffs since the 99 and 2000 seasons,
which was all the way back when Colon
was a sweet starry eyed 27 year old.
That was seven teams, one 50 game suspension for PEDs,
and just a couple LBs ago for the pitcher.
Much like Gordon, Colon came out of
his 2012 suspension looking fresh.
He finished the year with the second most wins in the AL
and led the league in complete game shutouts.
That earned him a nice contract from the Mets
which Colon repaid by recording his most strike outs
since his Cy Young winning 2005 season.
And before tonight, in 2016 he had been pretty solid,
especially over his last 10 games
when the Mets needed it the most.
And they needed it tonight.
They're facing a Marlins team that's playing
for so much more than whatever fleeting post season hopes
exist and regardless of which side is pitching,
Miami would have a presence on the mound.
That number 16 wasn't going anywhere.
Especially not from the hearts
and minds of Marlins players, coaches, or fans.
Miami star, the young ace Jose Fernandez,
was found dead less than two days earlier
after a boat he was in crashed into a jetty.
This devastated his teammates, their entire city,
and the league as a whole.
No one wanted to believe his story would end like this.
He arrived in the U.S. as a 15 year old
after his 4th attempt to defect from Cuba.
On the journey over he dove into the water to save a woman
who had fallen in, which turned out to be his mother.
After settling in Tampa he won a pair
of high school state titles and drew the eyes of Marlins
management who selected him 14th overall in the 2011 draft.
He struck out eight over five innings in his debut
on April 7, 2013 against the Mets
and while a New York comeback in the 9th spoiled his result,
he'd go on to earn NL Rookie of the Year honors
and finished third in Cy Young voting.
In addition to that, in his final game of the season,
he crushed a ball that went out
for his first career home run against Atlanta.
- [Announcer] The kid, in his last game, homers to left!
We told you to come out!
- [Narrator] And it also led to the benches clearing
once he made it home after Atlanta disapproved
of him spitting his way around third
and taking a little too long to look at the ball.
When it came to his pitching, some argued it was
the greatest season by a rookie in MLB history.
So to no one's surprise, Fernandez got the nod
to be the Marlins opening day starter in his second season,
making him the youngest to do that in the NL
since Dwight Gooden in 1986.
And although his season came to an end in May,
he returned halfway through 2015
looking like the ace the Marlins needed.
That carried into this season for Fernandez,
which included an unbeaten May, part of eight straight
starts that ended with him earning the win.
In his final outing against
the division leading Nationals,
he struck out 12 across eight scoreless innings
and afterward told a teammate that he felt
it was the best game he'd ever pitched.
But when he passed away, it wasn't tragic
because he was a great pitcher, it devastated
the communities because he was loved as a person.
Tonight at Marlins Park you can see that in the stands
and around the stadium with memorials popping up,
as they had throughout all of Miami.
And you could also see it on every Marlins player,
physically in the fact that they all wore his jersey
in tribute, but also in the emotions openly
on display for the last 36 hours.
The Marlins canceled their game
on the day of Fernandez's death and many took the time
to open up about the 24 year old.
The theme of their memories was the joy he brought to
and took from baseball.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly likened him
to how kids play the game,
having never lost that early passion.
Eduardo Perez said that all Fernandez wanted to do
was have fun and be on that mound and play the game,
not work the game but play the game
and he played it beautifully.
Marlins president, David Samson, backed by the entire team,
spoke at length about Jose and referenced the fact that
they would make sure no one forgot
the man that Fernandez was.
- His story is representative of a story of hope and of love
and of faith and no on will ever let that story die.
- Those that had grown up with him
over the last few years expressed their love, their hurt,
and how much they'd miss Fernandez's daily positivity.
Gordon posted on his Instagram a sentiment
shared by many teammates, they were family
and they had lost a brother.
Ahead of the opening pitch tonight,
they surrounded the mound with number 16 for a moment
of silence and the national anthem,
as Marlins players fought through tears.
The Mets crossed the infield and both teams embraced
following the anthem, showing the impact felt
by the entire league.
Miami took to the mound as a team
and left messages in the dirt for their pitcher
before taking their places as their first game
without Jose began.
But the tribute was far from over
and even the first pitch of this at bat had purpose.
Dee Gordon has batted lefty his entire career,
so where he's currently at, it makes sense.
But when he came to the plate,
he stepped into the opposite batters box,
settling in as a righty, just like Jose.
Gordon actually mimicked Fernandez's batting stance to a T,
knee wiggle and all.
After taking ball one he swapped out equipment.
- [Announcer] And I would guess that was Jose's helmet.
- [Narrator] And returned to his natural side
where he took ball two.
With less than two days separating this pitch
from Fernandez's death, every emotion has filtered
through these players, this organization, and their fans.
In and outside the stadium located in Little Havana,
memorials grow honoring the man who loved baseball
but openly loved life even more
and while the healing process needed more time,
for today at least they were back to just playing baseball.
But Gordon who has never been mistaken for a power hitter
has one more salute for his brother.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Announcer] Gordon to right, it's deep, and it's gone!
Dee Gordon has hit it out and the Marlins
have a one nothing lead!
(cheering)
- [Narrator] I'm sorry, I'm sorry,
here's something happier and much more light hearted,
it's my treat for you.
Or if you wanna keep this train going,
check out our episode about how the Marlins
accidentally won a World Series while they collapsed.
Subscribe to SB Nation and think about puppies.
(calm music)