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José Fernández loved life and we loved him - A Hunt and Peck

Rest in peace, José (1992 - 2016)

Joe Skipper/Getty Images

I will not say José Fernández was my favorite baseball player.

Not because he was not my favorite baseball player. No, that is definitely not why. I will not say it because it is not enough. I cannot reduce him to that.

Today and in the coming days there will be a lot of things written about José. These things will be beautiful and poignant and heart-breakingly tragic. How could they not? How could a retrospective on the life of José Fernández be anything but? The focus could be on his talent - and God, what talent -, his journey to the United States - and God, what a journey -, his infectious smile - and God, what a smile -; no matter the angle, the story will be wonderful because he was wonderful.

I am not writing that today. I am being much more selfish.

When I saw José Fernández, I, whether rightly or wrongly, saw attributes that I wanted for myself. The work ethic, the enthusiasm, the joy, they were all things for which I looked up to him. He seemed to have an unparalleled love for life and a genuine appreciation for every second of it he had.

I have seen a couple of people say "love something as much as José Fernández loved baseball". There are a lot of lessons to take from José, but maybe this will be the greatest one. Our time here is limited and no matter how much of it we get, it will never be enough. Live life with as much love as José Fernández loved baseball.

No, I will not say José Fernández was my favorite baseball player, but I will say he was my favorite person that played baseball. The world feels emptier without him in it.

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