Grab the tissues.
In 2013, the Miami Marlins arranged for Jose Fernandez's grandmother, Olga, to travel to the United States to see her grandson pitch in the major league for the first time in six years.
During an interview, Fernandez talked about how much his grandmother meant to him while he was living in Cuba as a child. He showed off a tattoo he got in his mother and grandmother’s honor.
“My mom doesn’t know as much about baseball as my grandma. My grandma is a baseball freak,” he said. The interviewer than asked if he could send his grandmother a message, what he would say. “Everything that I do is for her. I am going to keep working hard and one day, hopefully, she is going to see me here.”
>> Marlins Pitcher Jose Fernandez has died
He was very frank when asked what she would say to him if she were there: “I don’t think she would be here.”
As he talked in front of the camera, his grandmother and mother walked into the room and completely blew Fernandez away.
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The two embraced for some time. “Oh, my God,” he said.
“I wanted to show her everything I did during the season, because she couldn’t be with me,” he said. He also revealed that it was his grandmother who taught him how to catch a baseball.
Later, Olga witnessed her grandson with the Rookie of the Year award and saw him play baseball at Marlins Park. During the game, Fernandez joked that his grandmother would probably have some pointers for him after the game.
Fernandez died in the early hours of Sept. 25 after a boat he was riding crashed into rocks in Miami. He and the two other passengers died as a result of the crash.
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