Mike Downey is a former Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune columnist and a frequent contributor to CNN. Members of the Marlins, disappointed by the increasing likelihood that they will miss the playoffs , didn't understand what true pain felt like until they woke Sunday to the news that Jose Fernandez was gone. Whenever anyone made a list of baseball's most skilled young stars, Fernandez's name always came up. That's why other teams came calling before MLB's trade deadline this summer — Jose Fernandez was a guy everybody else wanted on their side, rather than someone throwing fiery fastballs past their own batters. Rob Manfred, baseball's commissioner, called Fernandez "one of our game's great young stars."

Source: CNN September 25, 2016 19:41 UTC