Marlins, Miami say goodbye to Jose Fernandez: 'He felt like our son'

MIAMI - In a final reminder of how many people were touched by Jose Fernandez, his funeral procession had to stop all over Miami on Wednesday as players, family, friends and fans paid their final respects to the fallen Marlins star.

It rolled past Marlins Park in Little Havana, where players and coaches – clad in white shirts that read "RIP" with Fernandez's image – kept their hands on the hearse until the last moment, not wanting to let go of the 24-year-old.

It stopped at a small church in Coconut Grove, where family and friends held a private ceremony. It stopped at a church in the Cuban-American suburb of Westchester, where thousands were able to walk past his closed casket and say their farewells.

And it stopped outside La Carreta, a Cuban restaurant Fernandez used to frequent before games, so the staff could come outside and raise a cafecito – the iconic shot of Cuban coffee that fuels this energetic city.

Cuban restaurant pays unique tribute to Jose Fernandez during memorial procession

“Miami has cried a lot,” said Ada Velazco, 58, a Cuban-American who attended his public viewing. "A star has gone out, but he'll be with us always."

Fernandez died early Sunday morning when his boat crashed into a jetty off South Beach, killing him and his two friends, Emilio Macias and Eduardo Rivero. As state officials continue investigating the crash, trying to determine who was driving and how the group ran up against the rock-lined jetty, the rest of the city has been forced to plow on without him.

The Marlins returned to the field on Monday, winning an emotional game against the New York Mets following a pregame ceremony honoring the Cuban-born pitcher. By the time his funeral procession rolled past on Wednesday, the team was still struggling to grasp that the smiling, laughing, energetic presence in their clubhouse was really gone.

Giancarlo Stanton walked with his arm around Marcell Ozuna. A stream of tears flowed down the face of former Marlin Jeff Conine. Team owner Jeffrey Loria, Ichiro Suzuki, Christian Yelich and others walked somberly along. As the procession prepared to roll away, hundreds of fans gathered around, side by side with all the Marlins players, chanting "Jose, Jose" until the hearse pulled away.

"He was so young that you're supposed to help teach him, but he's the one who taught us," manager Don Mattingly said as he walked back into Marlins Park on Wednesday. "He taught us how to enjoy the game, how to love the game and to have the passion he had.”

Felipe Valls, the owner of La Carreta, said he saw the same energy every time Fernandez came into one of his restaurants. Valls said the two-time All-Star, who struck out a club-record 253 batters this season, could never stop in for a quick bite because he talked to almost everyone in the restaurant and took any pictures people asked.

"My staff all loved him," Valls said. "It's such a great loss on so many levels."

Even those who never met Fernandez felt a need to turn up on Wednesday. Matthew Clark made the 90-minute drive from his home in West Palm Beach to attend Fernandez's public viewing. He said he "owed it" to Fernandez to be there, given everything Fernandez did for him.

"It's amazing that someone I didn't even know can affect me so much," said Clark, 25, who was planning to attend the Marlins game Wednesday night and leave an inscribed hat at the memorial outside the stadium. "That shows what kind of a person he was."

That connection was even deeper for Cuban-Americans in Miami. Eny Guerrero, 67, said Fernandez felt like family because his experience was hers. They both emigrated from Cuba to escape the island’s communist government. They both struggled at first in the USA, struggling with a new language barrier and a country so unlike their native island.

PHOTOS: Jose Fernandez's memorial

"Everybody loved him, but the pain is more profound for us Cubans," said Guerrero, who saw Fernandez pitch dozens of times and turned out for Wednesday’s ceremony. "He was so special, so energetic, so charismatic. I'll keep him in my heart and my prayers until the day I die."

That sentiment was a common one on Wednesday as fans struggled to explain how an athlete, someone they only saw on TV or from the stands in a baseball field, could leave such a heart-felt impact. Elsa Carreño, 62, a retired factory worker from Cuba who attended Wednesday’s events, said the only way to explain it was to recognize that Fernandez had truly become family.

"He felt like our son," she said. "We're so grateful that (they did) this. His family is suffering the most right now, but he was all of ours."

GALLERY: Jose Fernandez, 1992-2016