NEW YORK — The clubhouse mood following the Phillies’ 17-0 loss to the Mets Sunday was somber, in part because of the disastrous game that had just wrapped up, but also because of the tragic news of Marlins star pitcher Jose Fernandez’s death in a boating accident early Sunday morning.
“It was rough. People are devastated. I didn’t even know him and I was crushed,” Phillies starter Jake Thompson said. “I can only imagine how that clubhouse feels. That’s something that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy, to deal with something of that magnitude.”
Both teams paused for a moment of silence before Sunday’s game and the Mets taped a jersey bearing Fernandez’s name and number onto their dugout wall.
“This morning, that was quite a surprise,” manager Pete Mackanin said of the atmosphere of the day. “I don’t think it affected the players once the game started. It was such bad news this morning that everybody was kind of melancholy.”
Fernandez had built a strong track record against the Phillies in his young career, amassing a 2.88 ERA in six starts.
“It’s kind of cliché to say but you look at the start of his career and he could have been a Hall of Famer,” Thompson said.
Asked how he would remember facing Fernandez, Mackanin was succinct.
MLB
“He was a helluva pitcher,” he said.