Buck Showalter on Jose Fernandez's death and a "reality check"

The Orioles clubhouse was silent this morning except for a television report providing more details on the tragic death of Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez.

Players stared at the screen, numbed by the news of the early-morning boating accident. A baseball fraternity mourned.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he woke up to the news, which led to the cancellation of the Marlins-Braves game in Miami.

"A reality check, huh?" he said.

"I was talking to Jonathan Schoop this morning," Showalter said. "I got it. It's important, OK? There's a place I go to watch some film of us, and I usually turn the sound off, but sometimes I get the announcers call, and I hear the words, 'Must win.' I got it and the mathematics of it, but things like this, you try to keep a grip on what's real and what's not, things that are really important.

"I know Jon was saying he gets frustrated, but to wake up to that type of news, you think about how silly some of your anxiety about something or your frustration with something really is compared to what's really important and what's real. So we press on.

"We know this game, how important this game is today, but ... I know you all have thought the same thing. I'm not pontificating on something you don't already know. I'm looking forward to having some of this stuff explained to me one day, because I don't have the answers to why."

Showalter, like so many others, was reminded of the boating accident in the spring of 1993 that claimed the lives of Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews and injured pitcher Bobby Ojeda. A Yankees contingent that included Showalter flew from Fort Lauderdale to Winter Haven for the memorial service.

"I'll never forget walking in that room," he said. "A year and a half later, I had Bobby Ojeda in spring training. It was a dark moment, boy."

Showalter will reach out to Marlins manager Don Mattingly, his former player who couldn't fight back tears during this morning's press conference.

"I will at some point," he said. "I just found out a couple hours ago. I don't really know a lot of the particulars, but it's really not something that I'll be searching for. But I'll talk to Donnie today or tomorrow.

"They cancelled their game today, right? Good."

Fernandez's death provided another example of why managers never stop worrying about their players, whether it's an off-day or the offseason. Whether they're in town or in another state or country.

"I do," Showalter said, "but there's so many different things. You see something happen and you just go, 'How does that happen?' Or, 'Why?' You realize that, what's the expression? If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plan.

"It's another thing about, you treat people like you want to be treated, you try to have a positive impact, do as many good things as you can with your life and see how long it lasts."