First some history: Fernández attempted to defect from Cuba unsuccessfully three times prior to successfully fleeing the country for the United States in 2007, with each attempted defection followed by a prison term.

The Miami Marlins pitcher finally reached the U.S. successfully in 2007, along with his sister and mother, who almost died after falling overboard during their journey.

Many on Twitter were familiar with Fernández's story and pointed out that the star baseball player fled Cuba to escape an oppressive government that would punish him for actions exactly like Kaepernick's — such as not standing during the national anthem.

Strike one against Gaetz for not seeing that his comparison was illogical, since Kaepernick's ability to protest rather than be coerced by the government into expressions of patriotism is exactly why Fernández came to the U.S. in the first place.

That's not the only reason Twitter took issue with Gaetz.

Strike two against Gaetz, a fervent Donald Trump supporter, was his stance on immigration and amnesty, which would not have been in Fernández's favor.

Twitter again was quick to point out the glaring hypocrisy in his tweet, calling the Republican politician out for his prior opposition to "any form of amnesty" and for other extreme measures against immigration, such as Trump's proposed wall.

Strike three would be Gaetz's politicizing of Fernández's death so quickly.

For his part, Gaetz seemed to understand that the internet is angry with him. Since his original tweet, he's responded to one critic by thanking him for his "thoughtful dialogue" and retweeted a photo from Florida Gov. Rick Scott that his prayers were with Fernández's family and baseball team.

What remains to be seen is whether Twitter will forgive him so easily for the gaffe.