Pitcher Jose Fernandez’s High School Jersey Back Where it Belongs

TAMPA, FL — Coach Landy Faedo’s plea for the safe return of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez’s Alonso High School baseball jersey didn’t fall on deaf ears. Hillsborough County Public Schools reported early Friday morning that Fernandez’s Ravens jersey was back at Alonso where it belongs.

Fernandez, 24, was a standout player for Alonso during his high school career. His death on Sunday, Sept. 25, rocked not only Major League Baseball fans but also the Alonso High School community. Fernandez and two other men were killed when the boat they were on collided with rocks offshore of Miami Beach.

Alonso High's baseball coach since the school opened in 2001, Faedo coached Fernandez from 2009 to 2011. Fernandez attended Alonso after he, his mother and sister defected from Cuba after three attempts.

Fernandez held a special place in Faedo’s heart.

See also: Jose Fernandez Remembered as ‘Special’ Player by High School Coach

“When I first saw him, I knew he was special,” Faedo told Patch after Fernandez’s death. “I had no doubt that he was going to be drafted and play pro ball.”

That prediction came true when he was snatched up in the first round by the Miami Marlins in 2011. Fernandez quickly advanced through the minor leagues and made the Opening Day roster in 2013.

Fernandez’s death hit Faedo hard, as did the theft of the jersey.

“Coach Landy Faedo is pleading with whoever took the jersey to return it,” the school district said on Thursday.

See also: Jose Fernandez’s High School Jersey Stolen

The plea seems to have struck a chord with the person or people who swiped the jersey from Alonso’s dugout during the Wednesday night vigil to honor Fernandez’s memory.

According to the school district, a family found a large envelope leaning against the high school’s ticket booth Thursday night. On that envelope were the words, “Jose’s jersey,” the district wrote in an email to media.

The family brought the envelope to the school early Friday morning. The jersey was inside.

“The entire Alonso High School family is grateful to have the jersey back,” the district wrote Friday.

Photo courtesy of Hillsborough County Public Schools