MIAMI — For the Miami Marlins, the magical phrase that marks the beginning of baseball is tinged with sadness this season.
Pitchers and catchers report Tuesday, but not all of them. The absence of charismatic ace Jose Fernandez will cast a shadow over the sun-splashed fields of spring training.
“We spent a lot of time this offseason trying to measure the size of that long and dark shadow,” team president David Samson said.
It has been 4½ months since Fernandez and two companions died in a boat crash. His teammates mourned publicly with heart-wrenching grace during a funereal final week of games in 2016.