Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria was asked about the impact P Jose Fernandez' death has had on his thought process regarding selling the team, and Loria said he is "still in the thinking stage," according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Loria said when the incident happened, people "naturally assumed" he would sell the team. Loria: "I don't deny that people have inquired. ... We have a real good club this year, and that's where my focus is: trying to win." On reportedly being considered by President Trump to be ambassador to France, Loria said, "It's something I'm thinking about. ... I've spent a good part of my adult life in France. ... We'll see what happens." Loria added he "used to see" Trump at Yankee Stadium, and the two would "sit and talk about baseball." Loria also commented on the team hosting the MLB All-Star Game in July: "Miami is the perfect place to have a festival like that, and we're going to do it right." Loria: "My philosophy on life is 'Do it right, or don't do it'" (ESPN.com, 4/13).
IN MEMORY: Marlins President David Samson Thursday said that Fernandez will be "permanently memorialized in a 9-to-10-foot bronze statue outside Marlins Park later this year." In Ft. Lauderdale, Tim Healey noted Loria, an art dealer, is "working closely with sculptor William Behrends to create the statue that will eventually find a home on the ballpark’s West Plaza or East Plaza." The piece "won’t be complete for at least six months." Behrends "previously made the statues" of Baseball HOFers Willie McCovey and Willie Mays at AT&T Park. Samson said, "It’s something Jeffrey wanted to do personally for Jose and his family and his fans." Samson added, "People make mistakes. Mistakes have consequences, but it doesn’t change what Jose meant to the Marlins, what he meant to Miami, what he meant to the community" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 4/14). In Miami, Andre Fernandez notes the statue will be "cast in bronze and will feature a red-orange painted glove like the one Fernandez used" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/14).
