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The Way That The Marlins Handled Last Night Was Really, Really Impressive

New York Mets v Miami Marlins

I have no idea how the Marlins did what they did last night.

After the tragic passing of Jose Fernandez on Sunday morning, their game against the Atlanta Braves was cancelled. I understand that “the show must go on”, but what makes you think that these guys can play the day after they lost a member of their family? At least, that’s what I was thinking before the game on Monday night when I saw several Marlins players getting ready to play a baseball game with tears in their eyes. What happened from there will be a movie some day.

I was so impressed by Giancarlo Stanton’s leadership last night. There’s no way that any of this was planned. Everyone was still in a state of shock. Nobody’s thinking about what to do, or what to say before the game. Stanton was acting on emotion and impulse, he spoke from the heart, and he handled it perfectly. Stanton’s a 26-year-old kid, and he led that team like a 15-year veteran. I was beyond impressed.

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Then there was this. Dee Gordon, who took the loss of Jose Fernandez as hard as anybody, led off the game by getting in the right-handed hitter’s batters box, wearing a helmet with Jose’s No. 16 on it, and mimicked his fallen friend’s footwork prior to taking a pitch. Gordon switched to the left side of the batter’s box, and hit his first home run of the season, which was also his first home run in over 300 at-bats. That moment right there will go down as one of the greatest sports moment of all-time.

New York Mets v Miami Marlins

After their victory over the Mets, the Marlins made a circle around the mound, Stanton said a few more words, then the team paid their final respects to Jose Fernandez, before leaving their hats behind. Moments like that are bigger than the game. This night was bigger than the game. This was about celebrating a life, not a baseball career. I got the chance to talk to one of the guys after the game last night, and all I could say was how sorry I was, and how I had no idea how they were able to go out and do what they did after what they had all endured. All he said was that he hoped that he and his Marlins teammates did Jose proud.

Oh, he’s proud.