Dee Gordon of Miami Marlins leads off first game since Jose Fernandez's death with home run

Table of Content

• History-Making Morocco Faces Ultimate World Cup Test Against France
• White House: Russia's Wagner Received Arms From North Korea
• 'First-class' Mets balance respect with wild-card race on emotional night6yAdam Rubin
• Dee Gordon honors Jose Fernandez, then hits a home run in surreal scene at Marlins Park
• Share this story

The 6-3, 265-pound Bour completed the play by belly-flopping into third base as fans roared. “I saw him crying right when he rounded first base,” Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. When he crossed home plate, tears were coming down his face, and they were coming down mine, too. When Gordon went up to bat in the bottom of the first, he had “No. When he wasn’t pitching, he was all about the team, giving a pretty fair impersonation of a cheerleader.

The entire team wore No. 16 jerseys and gathered around the pitcher’s mound, many overcome with emotion. In honor of Fernandez, the Marlins pitcher who died in a boating accident early Sunday in Miami Beach, every Marlins player on Monday wore a jersey with his name and number, 16. The Marlins canceled their game that was scheduled for Sunday, against the Atlanta Braves, but they returned to Marlins Park on Monday to face the Mets in an emotional game.

History-Making Morocco Faces Ultimate World Cup Test Against France

It’s not like if Gordon’s home run didn’t happen, we’d have to invent it. There wouldn’t have been that one moment where we remembered just how it felt. We weren’t going to revisit the calls or the texts or the news reports or the tweets or however we all found out. There wasn’t going to be a video of what was going on inside your head for the first five minutes, the first hour, the first day, something easy to rewind and replay again.

If this was the last time we see a No. 16 jersey on the field for the Marlins, Gordon and the rest of Fernandez's teammates made sure it was represented in the best light possible. There were a lot of amazing things that happened on Monday. In addition to Gordon’s power show, there was also slow-footed Marlins first baseman Justin Bour legging out his first career triple. Beyond his pitching, Fernandez was known for his charismatic, fun-loving personality.

White House: Russia's Wagner Received Arms From North Korea

"I was just trying to go back to my teammates as fast as possible, and I couldn't get there. I was just wondering why wasn't on the top of the steps cheering for me." Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

This was the first plate appearance for the Marlins' organization after the passing of Fernandez, the superstar pitcher who died Sunday in a boating accident. As he crossed home plate, Gordon gestured to the sky before returning to the dugout, where his teammates ― each wearing Fernandez’s now-retired No. 16 jersey ― came to comfort him. But, even as it was, he will go down as perhaps the most dominant home-stadium pitcher in baseball history with a 29-2 record and a 1.49 ERA in 42 starts.

'First-class' Mets balance respect with wild-card race on emotional night6yAdam Rubin

Monday's win over the Mets was a small step in what will be a long healing process. There haven't been many smiles from the Marlins the past two days. But Gordon was able to share a rare smile after his homer with teammate Giancarlo Stanton, who usually is the Marlins player delivering long-distance bombs. Gordon’s homer was just the ninth of his six-year major-league career. At the same time, the rawness will fade, callous over, and become something entirely different.

From left, Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners, and teammates Ryon Healy, Jean Segura, Mike Zunino and Mitch Haniger celebrate after Healy hit... All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Baseball-Reference Bullpen 100,000+ pages of baseball information, How to Contribute, ... MLB Scores Yesterday's MLB Games, Scores from any date in Major League history, MLB Probable Pitchers, Baseball-Reference Stream Finder, ...

Aaron Judge, MLB's Top Free Agent, Signs Massive Contract: Report

While there’s a great chance that Dee Gordon’s home run on Monday will be the most emotional baseball moment any of us will ever witness, it’s not a great idea to power rank emotional moments. That’s doubly true when you’re in close proximity to one of them. Pitting Gordon’s home run against, say, Mike Piazza’s post-9/11 home run is like having a debate between food and water. The first pitch was eventually thrown, but the tributes and emotions didn’t stop there. When Gordon stepped to the plate to start the bottom of the first inning, he did so wearing a helmet with Fernandez’s number on it. The left-handed Gordon also stepped into the opposite batter’s box and took the first pitch right-handed in honor of Fernandez.

Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins celebrates with Dee Gordon after hitting home run during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park... Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners is congratulated by third base coach Scott Brosius after hitting a two run home run in the third inning of the... David Freitas of the Seattle Mariners congratulates Jean Segura of the Seattle Mariners after Segura hit a three-run home run off of starting pitcher...

Marcell Ozuna of the Miami Marlins is congratulated by Dee Gordon after hitting a solo home run during a game against the Oakland Athletics at... Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins celebrates with Dee Gordon after hitting a three run home run against the Washington Nationals in the fifth... We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. About Baseball Reference Batting Glossary, Pitching Glossary, Wins Above Replacement Explainer, WAR data archive, BR Data Coverage, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, ...

Gordon then switched helmets and went to his usual left-handed stance, and his first swing was a monster shot to right field off New York Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon. MIAMI -- The thoughts running through Dee Gordon's head after his first home run of the season ranged from hurried to confusion Monday night. The Miami Marlins second baseman created one of the memorable sports moments of 2016 as he fought back tears on his way to home plate. Then he crushed the third pitch from Bartolo Colon into the right-field seats — Gordon’s first home run of the season and just the ninth of his six-year major league career. Dee Gordon, right, rounding third base after his home run in his first at-bat Monday night.

Dee Gordon honors Jose Fernandez, then hits a home run in surreal scene at Marlins Park

Led by Gordon's homer, Monday's performance was a fitting way for Marlins players to offer a tribute to their teammate who is gone way too soon. This might be the final time you see any Marlins player wear Fernandez's No. 16, especially if the boss -- owner Jeffrey Loria -- has his say. MIAMI – Dee Gordon, a lefty hitter, saw the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning as a right-handed hitter, which was his way of paying tribute to the late Jose Fernandez. Realmuto of the Miami Marlins is congratulated by teammates after hitting a walk off home run in the tenth inning against the New York Mets at... Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins celebrates with Dee Gordon after hitting his fifty-ninth home run of the season during the eighth inning of... Riddle of the Miami Marlins celebrates with Dee Gordon after hitting a walk-off 2-run home run to end the game against the New York Mets at Marlins...

Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners reacts with Dee Gordon, Denard Span, and Ryon Healy after hitting a there run home run during the first inning of... Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners celebrates a solo home run by Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles... Ryon Healy of the Seattle Mariners is congratulated by Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners after hitting a home run during a game against the Colorado... Cameron Maybin and Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners celebrates after Maybin hit a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the... Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners drops Gatorade on Omar Narvaez after he hit a walk-off home run against the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park on... Justin Bour of the Miami Marlins is congratulated by teammate Dee Gordon after Bour hit a solo home run in the eighth inning against the New York...