Jose Fernandez is gone. The Marlins ace and two other people were taken from the world in a tragic boating accident during the night. He was only 24. I type the words and I can’t believe they’re true.

It’s not normal that I would post about another player on a Yankees site, but this was no ordinary guy. This was a generational player and remarkably charismatic man in the conversation for the best pitcher in baseball. This was someone who took his team by storm as a 20-year-old rookie in 2013, capturing the Rookie of the Year award, only to fall to Tommy John surgery the next year.

The news of his Tommy John procedure felt like a gut punch since he was so fun to watch. We were sweet fools.

Fernandez returned in 2015 and promptly went back to being one of baseball’s lead attractions. He fanned at least 14 batters in a game three times this year, was second in the league with 253 strikeouts, returned to the All-Star team, and had a league-leading 2.29 FIP to go with a 2.86 ERA. He was stuck on a shaky team in Miami that never completed an over-.500 season during his four seasons (they might get there this year), but that didn’t matter to fans of the game. He was still incredibly popular.

He had talent.

He had flair.

He had heart.

Whenever you turned on a Jose Fernandez start, you knew you were in for some fun. He could easily distract you from whatever was going on in your life. Sure, his flair sometimes rubbed baseball’s stodgier players the wrong way, but it’s what made him so appealing. He was not afraid to change things up from the stiff status quo.

Even when he messed up, Fernandez had no problems laughing at himself and appreciating other talent. It was just a game, after all.

The human side of Fernandez is what makes this hurt most of all. That video above reuniting with his grandmother was incredibly touching. When he was boating to Cuba at age 15, his mother fell in, and he risked his life to save her. Fifteen years old! When he won Rookie of the Year in 2013, he donated all his winnings to “Live Like Bella,” a foundation for fighting childhood cancer, which he continued to associate with for the rest of his career. (On a personal note, I donated $16 today in his honor to the charity, and I encourage you to do the same.)

Just five days ago, Fernandez shared the next exciting news of his life, as his girlfriend Carla Mendoza was pregnant. His child will never get to meet him, and that is the most heartbreaking news of all.

Jose Fernandez could have taken that next step soon to become one of the game’s true faces. He had everything working in his favor, and the looks certainly didn’t hurt. Now, it’s all over due to a freak accident, and baseball is momentarily lost. The Marlins and Braves will understandably not play their game today. The Yankees and all other teams around baseball will honor him with a moment of silence. The Miami Dolphins will do the same in memory of their crosstown companion.

Hopefully, Fernandez’s teammates, friends, and family (young and old) will power through. Baseball is peanuts compared to the importance of their well-being.

Baseball will trudge on without Jose. It is a dark place without him, but we must take comfort in knowing that he would want to see the game continue to grow. He would want there to be more excitement, joy, and thrills. It’s just a damn shame that we will have to find them without him.

Rest well, Jose.