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Red Sox players mourn loss of Marlins’ Jose Fernandez

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A distraught David Ortiz paused during a moment of silence for Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez before Sunday’s game.Joseph Garnett Jr.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Red Sox players were glued to the TV sets in the Red Sox clubhouse at Tropicana Field, trying to soak in as much news as they could about the death of Jose Fernandez in an early-morning boating accident in Miami.

The Red Sox have several players who live in the Miami area, and were quite familiar with Fernandez, one of the games' biggest young stars, who at 24 years old was on his way to becoming one of the best modern-era pitchers.

As David Ortiz stood with his teammates for a moment of silence on the field just prior to the national anthem, Ortiz broke into tears. He had developed a wonderful bond with the Cuban-born pitcher, who idolized Ortiz and who bought his jersey when he was 16 years old.

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"I don't have the words to describe the pain I feel,'' Ortiz said.

"You can never be prepared to hear news like that," Ortiz later said on MLB Network before Sunday's game. "It makes a major impact on you. We need more faces like him in the game. We need more people in the media to tell stories like his. He was an unbelievable human being. This is something that will hit home for a very long time."

Hanley Ramirez had his face buried in his hands. He knew Fernandez well from Miami, where Ramirez also lives. He tweeted out, "Can't Be True. CANNOT BE TRUE."

Aaron Hill watched intently, no stranger to tragedy, when as a teenager his mother was killed in a car accident after watching Aaron in a soccer match.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Fernandez played with the "joy of a little boy."

At the request of Ortiz, the Rays canceled a pregame ceremony to recognize Ortiz upon his final game at Tropicana Field.

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Ortiz had risked a tampering charge by MLB at the All-Star Game when he said he wanted the Red Sox to trade for Fernandez and thought there was a chance. Ortiz loves everybody, but Fernandez held a special place in his heart.

Even before Ortiz's plea to obtain him, the Red Sox had inquired about Fernandez over the past two years and were always rebuffed. But that's how good he was. That's how special his career was going to be.

You could see young Cuban Yoan Moncada walking the clubhouse with a long, sad look on his face. Fernandez, even as young as he was, had become a hero to Cuban players.

There were no bounds to this tragedy. People stumbled to say the right things, to try to put it in context, but the general feeling was shock, disbelief. Players and people around the game were stunned that one of the greatest young players had been taken.

"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. "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."

At a news conference held in Miami where the Marlins-Braves game was canceled, Mattingly was sobbing and player spokesman Martin Prado was trying to hold it together as he answered questions from reporters. Prado said something that got to everyone when he said, "Jose told one of our guys that the last game he pitched against Washington, was the best he'd ever pitched. And now he's gone."

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That was Sept. 24 when he went eight innings, allowed three hits and no walks, and struck out 12.

Fernandez was 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA this season. He was 38-17 with a 2.58 ERA in 76 career starts for the Marlins. He was a candidate for this year's Cy Young award, and what a thing if he were to get it now.

I remember covering the tragic boating accident on Lake Nellie near Winter Haven when Steve Olin and Tim Crews lost their lives and former Red Sox lefty Bobby Ojeda survived, but lost half of the blood in his body and was nearly scalped. I remember speaking to Ojeda, who was on an alligator hunting mission with his teammates on that night in March 22, 1993, when his world came crashing down and shook him to his core.

There are no ways to put this in any perspective or light.

John Farrell had left the Indians by 1993, but he was a teammate of Olin and to hear this news was devastating.

"Certainly all of our thoughts and prayers go out not only to the Fernandez family but the Marlins organization and the Cuban-American community in South Florida," Farrell said.

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"Through the guys in here that know him personally, I know he was a young guy who was full of life. We all know the talent that he is. Baseball has lost one heck of a young pitcher, but, more importantly, our thoughts are with his family."

By all accounts, Fernandez was a wonderful kid who gave back to the community and truly understood his place in baseball. Nobody had to explain those things to him. He knew he was special. This is a kid who saved his mother from drowning as his family made its fourth attempt to flee Cuba. He already had been through quite an ordeal to seek his freedom before he was out of high school.

His high school years were here in Tampa where he attended Braulio Alonso High School and helped win two state championships, throwing 94 miles per hour as a sophomore.

Pieces of the tragedy are still being put together. The Coast Guard arrived at the scene at around 3 a.m. Sunday and found the 32-foot boat capsized after it hit a jetty off Miami Beach. Officials said two men were found dead under the boat and one was found in the water. The authorities have not identified where Fernandez was.

Nobody was wearing a life vest. Authorities said speed was a factor but there was no evidence of alcohol.

We've lived through so many tragedies of wonderful athletes who died young. Just two years ago at the World Series came word of the death of young Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras in a high-speed car accident.

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Red Sox and Rays players walked around in a daze. Jose Fernandez left everyone with a heavy heart. It was a tough day for baseball when a wonderful athlete and talent dies so young.

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Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.