Imrem: Death does not discriminate

Death doesn't care who it takes, at whatever age, under whatever circumstances.

We all already knew that because we all have lost family and friends sooner or later, sometimes shockingly and sometimes after waiting for it to happen.

The sports world suffered both experiences Sunday.

Early in the morning, word arrived that Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed overnight in a boating accident.

He was 24 years old.

In the evening, word followed that golf great Arnold Palmer died.

He was 87 years old.

It's odd to mention Fernandez and Palmer in the same sentence because the former hadn't accomplished much yet and the latter had accomplished everything.

But maybe that's the point.

When Palmer was Fernandez's age, he wasn't even a pro yet. That in fact was the year he won the United States Amateur.

Not long after, Palmer became the Babe Ruth of his sport.

By the 1960s, Palmer was the face of golf. He revived the British Open by going overseas to play in it and win it twice. He won seven major titles. His rivalry with a younger Jack Nicklaus was epic.

Arnold Palmer was as magnetic as any athlete who came before or after him and, yes, including Michael Jordan.

I was around Palmer a little, in the locker room at a couple of Western Opens and at the U.S. Senior Open at Medinah.

One of the most memorable comments I ever heard an athlete make came the day before that Senior Open.

It was Chicago-summer hot and humid. Remember, these were older players and Palmer was pushing 60 years of age.

The golfers were asked about how they would handle the elements, whether they were worried about it, whether they would consider withdrawing from the tournament.

To paraphrase Palmer: "There are worse places to die than the golf course."

In this case, as in just about every case, Palmer said just the right thing: There are worse places to die than the golf course.

I also attended a clinic Palmer gave in the suburbs here, at Rolling Green Country Club in Arlington Heights I think it was.

As usual, Palmer was mesmerizing. A good guess is that some of the members in attendance found it like being in the presence of royalty.

No wonder Palmer was referred to as The King.

Palmer recently was absent from events he normally would be at, so his death was shocking but not surprising.

Jose Fernandez's was both.

In a way, the Marlins pitcher was beginning on the path toward being what Arnold Palmer was.

Fernandez might have been the best young pitcher among a collection of great ones. He beat the first-place Nationals 1-0 last week in what might have been the best game of his brief career.

But that was only a peek at Fernandez, who tried to flee Cuba on a boat three times before finally making it on try No. 4.

All accounts say that Fernandez had Palmeresque charisma, a similar love of his sport and an appreciation of life,

Perhaps if Fernandez made it to 87 he would have become as much a beloved baseball legend as Palmer was a beloved golf legend.

Death being fickle, the sports world wasn't fortunate enough to find out what it would have in Jose Fernandez.

We can be thankful that we knew what we had in Arnold Palmer and could enjoy him as long as we did.

mimrem@dailyherald.com