Jose Fernandez's death crushed Don Mattingly and the Marlins

The news of Jose Fernandez’s death shook the sports world on Sunday morning, but nowhere was it more crushing than at Marlins Park, where fans and teammates gathered to remember a talent taken far too soon.

With Sunday’s game canceled, the Marlins gathered anyway. They met as a team, talked about Fernandez together, trying to process the loss together and grief together. Then, they stood united for a press conference. Players wore their jerseys, surrounding a table where manager Don Mattingly sat along with execs David Samson, Michael Hill and veteran player Martin Prado.

They were moved to tears as they talked about Fernandez — their 24-year-old ace, who was found dead early Sunday morning after a boating accident that killed two other people. Mattingly was particularly emotional, breaking down in tears while talking about Fernandez.

“When I think about Jose, I see such a little boy,” Mattingly said at one point. “The way he played, there was just joy with him.”

At another point: “When he pitched … you just see that little kid that you see when you watch kids play Little League or something like that. That’s the joy that Jose played with.”

The Marlins painted Fernandez’s No. 16 on the pitcher’s mound Sunday morning and players such as Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich were seen kneeling in front of it.

Outside the stadium, fans had started to gather, bringing flowers and wearing No. 16 jerseys as a way to remembering the young pitcher.

Though only 24, Fernandez had already established himself as one of the best arms in all of MLB. This season, his 16-8 record, 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts (second in baseball) made him one of the candidates for NL Cy Young. He won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2013.

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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! Follow @MikeOz