MIAMI: Miami Marlins ace pitcher Jose Fernandez died early Sunday in a boating accident in Miami Beach, the Major League Baseball team confirmed.
"The Miami Marlins organization is devastated by the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez," the club said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also commented on the death of the 24-year-old, a rising star in the major leagues.
"All of Baseball is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez," Manfred said.
"He was one of our game's great young stars who made a dramatic impact on and off the field since his debut in 2013. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, the Miami Marlins organization and all of the people he touched in his life."
Fernandez was one of three people killed in the accident, in which the 32-foot vessel had a "severe impact" with a jetty, authorities said. The Coast Guard discovered the overturned boat around 3:30 a.m.
The Marlins' game against the Atlanta Braves scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Miami was cancelled.
Fernandez was originally scheduled to start on Sunday, but on Saturday the team announced he would skip that start and pitch Monday's opening game of a series against the New York Mets.
Fernandez was enjoying his best major league season, posting a 16-8 record with a 2.86 earned run average.
The hard-throwing right-hander set a club record with 253 strikeouts this season, and his 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings rank led the majors.
After unsuccessful attempts, Fernandez managed to leave Cuba for Florida at the age of 15.
At 20 he broke into the major leagues and was National League Rookie of the Year in 2013.
In May of 2014, however, he underwent Tommy John ligament replacement elbow surgery. He returned to the major leagues on July 2, 2015, and the same year became a US citizen.
Fernandez's last start, on Tuesday, was one of the best of the two-time All-Star's career. He tossed a season-high eight innings and struck out 12 in a 1-0 shutout win over the Nationals.
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