A friend of mine recently asked me if Jose Fernandez were really as good as everyone says he is. He’s never followed baseball closely, and only knows what he does about Fernandez and the Miami Marlins from watching on the periphery.
He asked because when many pass away, their memory is aggrandized. Their achievements are revered and inflated, while their shortcomings are ignored. Post-mortem, it’s easy to say that Jose Fernandez was one of the best pitchers in baseball.
The difference is, nothing that is said about Jose Fernandez now, wasn’t being said when he was alive.