MIAMI _ As a tribute to Jose Fernandez the entire Marlins team will wear his No. 16 on Monday night in the first game since the All-Star pitcher's death in a boating accident.
It will be last time anyone on the team wears it again.
Although plans haven't been finalized beyond Monday, owner Jeffrey Loria said emphatically, "Nobody's going to wear it. I can tell you that now, nobody will wear that number again."
Fernandez was scheduled to make his 30th start of the season in the opener of the final home series against the New York Mets.
The Mets were one of several teams that honored Fernandez on Sunday. They had a Mets No. 16 jersey with Fernandez across the back made up at the suggestion of owner Jeff Wilpon.
It was hung in their dugout by outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who like Fernandez defected from his native Cuba to pursue a baseball career in the United States.
"He had the jersey made ... and I decided that I wanted to be the one to go out there and put it up, just to let everyone know how much this loss meant to us," Cespedes told New York writers covering the team.
The Marlins canceled Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves after it was learned that Fernandez was killed during the night along with two others after their 32-foot center console fishing boat struck the north jetty at Miami's Government Cut at high speed.
His number was painted on the pitcher's mound at Marlins Park and fans left flowers in tribute outside the park throughout the day.
In announcing that the team would play Monday, Marlins president David Samson said, "Somebody said if Jose were here he would be saying 'We're going to get out there (Monday) and play and honor the game and honor the people who wish they could play the game but can't, and honor the oppressed people of Cuba who can't play this game but want to.'"
Third baseman Martin Prado said it will be difficult for the team to refocus on baseball.
"We're not robots. We're humans, and we feel things," Prado said Sunday. "He made an impact on every single person on this team in different ways.
"Deep in our hearts there's a lot of pain. In some way we've got to overcome that. But right now it's something that's hard to explain."
