The high school jersey of late Miami Marlins’ pitcher Jose Fernandez has gone missing. Fernandez’s alma mater — Tampa’s Braulio Alonso High School — held a candlelight vigil to honor Fernandez. At the event’s conclusion, the jersey was missing.
“Hillsborough County Public Schools sent out a press release to media saying Fernandez’s jersey was hanging in the dugout during the ceremony,” a story from WTSP in Tampa said. “As the coaches and school leaders were cleaning up after the vigil, they noticed the jersey was gone.”
At this point, there’s almost nothing that can make the story of Fernandez any sadder, but this certainly does it.
The first hope is obviously that it was a mix-up. Something akin to a maintenance man cleaning up the area, and for whatever reason, assuming the jersey needed to be taken down.
If it was stolen, the only hope now is that it gets returned in a prompt manner. In the event of a theft, we can only hope that the thief (or thieves) took the jersey as a way to honor Fernandez, hoping to use it as a reminder. With that, the person (or people) may be more likely to return it.
We can only hope, anyway.