"All of Baseball is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Miami Marlins pitcher José Fernández," Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. We would like to extend our sincerest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the families and friends who share in the loss of the three victims involved in this tragic boating accident and to the Miami Marlins organization.” The team, which drafted the pitcher in the first round of the 2011 draft, canceled its Sunday home game against the Atlanta Braves but dozens of mourners still gathered at a makeshift memorial set up for Fernandez near the entrance to Marlins Park. Authorities said Sunday during a news conference that the boat involved in the fatal Sunday morning crash belonged to “a friend of José’s who is very well connected to several Marlins players.” Investigators say the boat, Kaught Looking, was heading south around 3:15 a.m. at full speed when it struck the north Government Cut jetty, flipped and killed all three men on board,

But in a news release Monday, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission said Fernández was indeed the registered owner. The speed at which the boat was traveling was believed to have played a role in the crash but alcohol and drugs were not considered to be a factor, Veloz said. The identities of the two other victims were not released. An already famous youth, he had a promising future.”

The right-hander, who made his major league debut in April 2013, was a two-time All-Star selection and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Fernandez, who as a teenager survived harrowing conditions at sea as he fled Cuba to start a new life in the United States, was one of three men killed when a 32-foot boat collided with a rocky jetty off Miami Beach, the Coast Guard said. The Miami Dolphins held a moment of silence for Fernandez before their game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
A boating accident near Miami Beach, Florida, kills Miami Marlins pitcher José Fernández and two others.