Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball like Babe Ruth loved hot dogs.

Legend has it that the Sultan of Swat once ate 12 hot dogs and drank eight bottles of soda between games of a doubleheader.

Let's dive in.

Today’s story is about the unbelievable journey of a phenom pitcher that escaped from Cuba.

We all know the tragic story of José Fernández - an incredibly talented guy who left us too soon.

But before he was loved and mourned by millions of fans, José had to put his life on the line just to get to the United States.

Fernández was born in Santa Clara, Cuba on July 31, 1992, and was raised by his mother and stepfather.

He grew up walking the beach looking for dried-out branches to use as bats and baseball-shaped rocks. He developed a passion for the game early in life.

The Fernandez family never had a desire to leave Cuba until José’s stepfather, Ramon Jiminez, was denied a medical mission to Venezuela.

The denial was an eye-opener for Jiminez, and shortly after he made a plan to flee for the states.

He got caught over and over again - by secret agents, the coast guard, etc.

It took Ramon 14 tries, but he finally did it.

Once he got a medical job in Tampa, he began sending money to the family so they could join him in Florida.

José and his mother made several attempts, but they were caught in the process.

At 15 years old, José was literally thrown in jail with Cuba's worst criminals for attempting to defect.

We're talking murderers, rapists, and thieves.

On their fourth attempt, they tried a different route.

José, his mother, stepsister, and eight others planned take the longer and more lightly-policed road south to Trinidad on the coast, and then continue onto Cancún.

After hiding out in caves near the coast of Trinidad, José found deep enough water for their speedboat driver to pick them up.

While traveling to their first stop, a wave hit the side of the boat, sending José’s mother overboard.

Without hesitation José dove in the water, not even realizing it was his mother until he got to her.

Fighting the waves and unforgiving currents, his mom latched onto his left shoulder, and José paddled with his right arm back to the boat.

The Fernandez family and other Cuban defectors stayed in a mansion on the coast of Mexico (home to the operator of the trafficking ring) and got their false documentation while waiting on the bus to pick them up.

It was supposed to take them to a border town called Reynosa, but along the way, the bus came to a stop.

A woman and four men, dressed in police uniforms, entered the bus.

Fernandez watched as, one by one, they told the Cubans to come outside; he pretended to sleep.

José was tapped on his shoulder and asked to exit the vehicle.

Panic started to set in.

The "police" took their jewelry and money, but ultimately let them go and allowed them to get back on the road.

José and his family made it to Texas, and ultimately joined his stepfather in Tampa.

Fernandez quickly became known in the baseball community and was a sought after prospect.

Three years later, he was drafted by the Marlins in the first round and given a $2 million signing bonus.

Two years after that, he was in the majors.

LEGENDS NEVER DIE

The greatest baseball movie of all time is always up for debate.

But there’s one thing we can all agree on, Sandlot is definitely in the top three.

There’s just too many iconic moments, too many amazing quotes - pure cinematic gold.

And without a doubt, this is one of the most iconic images of the 90’s.

The guys over at Dugout Mugs partnered with David Mickey Evans - the man who wrote, directed, and narrated this masterpiece - to make a special edition mug.

They’ve etched Benny and the boys into the barrel, and the mug includes David’s signature as well.

If you don’t think this is awesome, you’re probably an L7 weenie.

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Jug only threw 12 innings for the Washington Senators, and his stats don’t look impressive, but he actually played for a long time.

Despite being labeled a replacement player during World War II, he's been honored with inductions into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame, the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame, and has a dedicated monument at the NBC "Walk of Fame" in Wichita.

He spent almost all of his time in semipro ball and played for a bunch of teams all around the country.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

• The Missed Opportunity: From Cy Young winner to jailbird.

• The Frozen All-Star: Why is Ted Williams' body frozen in Scottsdale?

• The Hitman: Maury Lerner turns in his spike for a gun

That's it for today. Tomorrow we're back at it like a bad habit. See ya!

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