Advertisement

Jose Fernandez's best friend gives us another incredible on-field tribute

Mike Oz

Aledmys Diaz returned to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, his heart still full of grief, but with one swing in the fourth inning, he gave us another incredible tribute to Jose Fernandez.

On Sunday, Diaz got the horrible news: Fernandez — who lived a few doors down when they were kids in their native Cuba, a friend so close he called him brother — had died in a boating accident.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

Outside of Fernandez’s teammates with the Miami Marlins, the news didn’t hit anyone in baseball harder than Diaz. He couldn’t play Sunday, then Monday he left the Cardinals to attend a private memorial in Miami with Fernandez’s mother and grandmother, who Diaz says look at him like a son.

All this weighed on Diaz as he played Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. It had to. And when he stepped to the plate in the fourth inning, he released all of it in one glorious moment.

Aledmys Diaz, Jose Fernandez's good friend, points to sky after his grand slam. (AP)
Aledmys Diaz, Jose Fernandez's good friend, points to sky after his grand slam. (AP)

With the bases loaded, Diaz unloaded a grand slam off Reds pitcher Robert Stephenson. It was his first career grand slam, imagine that. And a day after Fernandez’s Marlins teammate Dee Gordon led off their game with his first homer of the season, breaking down in tears as he returned to the dugout.

In Diaz’s case, he touched home plate and pointed to the sky, then went back to the Cardinals dugout and got a curtain call from the Busch Stadium fans and pointed to the sky again.

All this is made even more special when you read Diaz’s pregame comments. He talked to Bob Nightengale of USA Today about his friendship with Fernandez and said:

“I think the best way to honor him,” Diaz said, “is to play this game 100%. I would think that’s what he’d want. I want to go out there and play 100% every day and give my team a chance to win, like he used to do, and to remind me how fun this game is.

“Sometimes, we forget this is a game. You have to have fun out there. That’s what he did. That’s the legacy he leaves us. He loved this game. He liked to compete. He would want us to enjoy the game like he did. Every time I get a chance to put on this uniform, I’m going to give everything I have.”

Mission accomplished.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!