Greatest Moments in Marlins History: #26 Going, Going… Bench Clearing

Sep 11, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (right) greets third base coach Joe Espada (left) after Fernandez hit a home run during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to the Greatest Moments in Marlins History. A great moment can be one of many things. It could be a moment that changed everything. It could be a moment that is so rare that it may never happen again. It could also be a first moment. Moment 26 falls under the category of a moment that was talked about non-stop. Today we bring you Jose Fernandez’s home run.

Jose Fernandez’s home run was on people lips for a long while. To this day when I walk around Orlando wearing my Marlins gear people still say “how about that Jose home run?” What makes this moment great is not that a pitcher hit a home run (though it helps my argument that we don’t need a DH), it’s the argument of whether what did was right or wrong. I’ve discussed both with people, depending on how they saw it. They’ve argued that he’s just a kid enjoying his first big league homer, they’ve argued that what he did was very unprofessional. The Braves were egging him on, so that’s how you pay it back. You don’t spit while rounding third base. The Braves overreacted. So on and so forth.  So with all that said let’s take a look at the home run.

We enter the 6^th inning and the Marlins are up 4-1. Jose up to this point has been shutting down the Braves. In 6 innings Jose has struck out 4 batters, given up 2 walks, 5 hits, and only 1 run. Chris Johnson had a .321 batting average in 2013 and has not fared well against Jose. In six plate appearance against Jose he has gone 0-6 with 2 strike outs. Johnson may have been a little mouthy that game. Well, back to the moment. On a 1-0 count Jose sends that ball into the Clevelander for his first home run ever, and did he watch it (boy did he watch it). As he rounded 3^rd he spits towards 3^rd base. When he got home Brian McCann had a few words for Jose. Then the benches cleared. There were a lot of heated words exchanged, but lucky no violence. The Marlins went on to win the game and Jose claimed his first home run.

So who was right and who was wrong? You can make an argument for both cases and that’s what makes this a great moment. There is no wrong or right answer, just your own opinion and that is what makes baseball so great. Join me tomorrow as we finally crack the top 25 Greatest Moments in Marlins History!