Counsell: Remember Fernandez for his joy

On most days before a major-league game there is a light-hearted atmosphere but that was not the case for the Brewers on Sunday as players tried to absorb the horrible news of the death of 24-year-old Miami ace Jose Fernandez in a boating accident.

“It’s recognizable in the clubhouse today,” manager Craig Counsell said before his team wrapped up the home season with a game against Cincinnati at Miller Park. “It’s a sad day.

“The baseball family has suffered a loss. The show goes on for us but it’s a sad day.”

Counsell played in Miami for the Marlins and is well aware of the connection there between the Hispanic community – and especially with those of Cuban heritage – and Fernandez and the game of baseball. Fernandez escaped from Cuba and lived his dream of becoming a major league baseball player, only to see his life cut short at such a young age.

GAME STORY: Quiet end to home season​

RELATED: ’Give Back Game' great for charities

BOX SCORE: Reds 4, Brewers 2

RELATED: Sunday game report

“When you start to understand his life and the back story of his life, you understand why he played and lived with such joy and great competitiveness and (being so) carefree,” Counsell said. “’Joy’ is the word that comes to mind.

“That’s what I think of now, that we should celebrate his joy – the joy that he lived his life with and played baseball with. It should be a thing that we carry with us and learn from him. How he performed on the field and just how he was kind of reminds you of the joy this game can bring you.”

Brewers infielder Hernan Perez didn’t know Fernandez well but recalled playing against him in advanced Class A ball in the Florida State League when Perez was in Detroit’s farm system. Perez said it was evident then that Fernandez would be a star one day.

“We went to the championship game and there he was,” Perez recalled. “He was their No. 1 pitcher. I hit against him. He was special. He liked to compete and have fun when he pitched.

“Nobody expected this moment. It’s really sad for baseball and the Latin community. It’s hard.”

Perez first heard the news from wife Johanna, who was in the Miami airport preparing to connect on a flight home to Venezuela.

“She was watching TV and it was on the news there,” he said. “The news was all about Jose. It’s hard. This will (last) for a year, at least. He was such a competitor. It was fun to watch him pitch.”

Baseball goes on but there was no place for frivolity Sunday as the game mourned Fernandez. The Brewers had planned to have their annual rookie “dress up” day on the flight to Texas, with the usual comical outfits, but postponed it out of respect for his loss.