José Delfín Fernández Gómez (July 31, 1992 – September 25, 2016) was a Cuban-born American professional baseball pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
2005
Ramón Jiménez, Fernández's stepfather, defected from Cuba in 2005, settling in Tampa, Florida.
On three occasions, José unsuccessfully attempted to defect; each failed defection attempt was followed by a prison term.
2007
On his fourth attempt in 2007, José successfully defected at age 15 with his mother and sister.
José's mother fell overboard when the boat hit turbulent waters, and he dove into the water to save her life.
2008
He made three unsuccessful attempts at defecting to the United States before he finally succeeded in 2008.
They reached Mexico and then moved to Tampa in 2008.
Ramon knew Orlando Chinea, a coach who lived in the Tampa area.
Chinea had trained some of Cuba's top pitchers before he defected to Tampa.
Ramon had José train with Chinea.
He attended Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida.
Playing on the high school baseball team, José was part of the Florida Class 6A state champions in his sophomore and senior seasons.
2011
He enrolled at Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida, and was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft.
Before his senior year in 2011, the Florida High School Athletic Association ruled that Fernández was ineligible, as he entered the ninth grade while in Cuba in 2006 and had therefore exhausted his eligibility.
MLB's Cincinnati Reds were prepared to sign Fernández as an international free agent to a $1.3 million signing bonus.
Fernández won an appeal and was declared eligible for his senior year, ending Cincinnati's pursuit.
As a senior, Fernández pitched to a 13–1 win–loss record with a 2.35 earned run average (ERA) and 134 strikeouts.
He also threw two no-hitters.
He was committed to play baseball at the University of South Florida.
The Florida Marlins selected Fernández 14th overall in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft.
Fernández signed with the Marlins, receiving a $2 million signing bonus.
After he signed with the Marlins, he made one start for the Gulf Coast Marlins of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, and one start for the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League.
2012
Pitching for the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) to start the 2012 season, Fernández threw the first six innings of a combined no-hitter.
He was twice named the SAL pitcher of the week.
Fernández was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.
After pitching to a 7–0 win–loss record and a 1.59 ERA in 14 games for Greensboro, the Marlins promoted Fernández to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.
He finished the 2012 season with a 14–1 win–loss record, a 1.75 ERA, and 158 strikeouts in 134 innings pitched at Greensboro and Jupiter.
He was named the Marlins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
2013
He was a member of the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016.
He stood 6 ft tall and weighed 243 lb during his playing career.
He was affectionately known as "Niño" to his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game.
Fernández was born in Santa Clara, Cuba.
Fernández made his MLB debut with the Marlins on April 7, 2013.
He was named to the 2013 National League All-Star Team, and won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Month Award in July and August.
After the season, he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished third in Cy Young Award balloting.
2014
He underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2014 season and was named to his second All-Star Game in 2016.
2016
Fernández and two other men were killed in a pre-dawn boating crash into a jetty off the coast of Miami Beach, Florida, on September 25, 2016.
Fernández grew up in Santa Clara, Cuba, where he lived on the same street as his friend and future Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop Aledmys Díaz.
They played for the same youth baseball team, and Díaz's father and uncle encouraged Fernández's mother to bring him to the ballpark.
Fernández commented that he pursued a professional baseball career because Díaz's uncle had been an influence early in his life.
