The Miami Marlins take the field Monday night for the first time since the death of ace starter Jose Fernandez.
The team plays without #16 at the same time the entire team wears #16. Every player on the Marlins roster takes the field tonight wearing #16. The mound at Marlins Park features a black #16 and the team looks to wear black #16 patches for the remainder of the season.
The Marlins announced that the special jerseys come by way of Philadelphia on short notice, which could alter plans. The team received special permission from Major League Baseball to wear a uniform number on player uniforms.
Fernandez, the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year, died early Sunday morning when a boat carrying him as a passenger crashed into a jetty close to the shore. Two other men also died in the accident along with the 24-year-old.
“Yes, I’ve put thought into it,” owner Jeffrey Loria told ESPN about retiring the number. “Nobody else is wearing that number. I can tell you that.”
Miami hosts the New York Mets at Marlins Park at 7:10 p.m. Monday. Adam Conley, who bumped Fernandez from a scheduled Sunday start for the canceled game on the day he died, takes the mound for Miami.
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