SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - As a Miami Marlin in 2013, outfielder Justin Ruggiano was one of the older players who befriended and counseled a bubbly, vocal rookie pitcher named Jose Fernandez.
Sitting on his sofa in Texas last Sept. 25, recovering from left-shoulder surgery, Ruggiano saw a TV report that Fernandez and two friends were killed in a boat crash off the coast of Miami Beach.
"I didn't believe it at first, honestly," Ruggiano said. "My initial thought was, gosh, that's messed up that someone would spread a rumor like that. About an hour later, when I realized it was true, it just blew my mind.