by Mark Langill
Former All-Star pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, the 1981 rookie sensation from Mexico who became one of the most beloved performers in the history of the Dodgers, passed away on Tuesday. He was 63.
Valenzuela spent 35 years in the Dodger organization and had been a member of the Spanish language broadcasting team since 2003. The Dodgers retired his uniform number 34 in 2023.
“On behalf of the Dodger organization, we profoundly mourn the passing of Fernando,” said Stan Kasten, President & CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers. “He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes. He galvanized the fan base with the Fernandomania season of 1981 and has remained close to our hearts ever since, not only as a player but also as a broadcaster. He has left us all too soon. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Linda and his family.”
The six-time All-Star, who won National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award honors during the Dodgers’ 1981 championship season, is the all-time leader among Mexican-born pitchers in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts and pitchers’ WAR (Baseball-Reference).
Valenzuela was born in Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico on Nov. 1, 1960, the youngest of 12 children. He began his professional baseball career in 1977 when he signed with Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League.
His subsequent success in Mexico caught the attention of Major League scouts, including the Dodgers’ Corita Varona and Mike Brito. The Dodgers purchased his contract from Puebla of the Mexican League on July 6, 1979.
After modest success at the Dodgers’ Single-A Lodi affiliate in the final two months of the California League season, the Dodgers decided Valenzuela needed to learn a third pitch to complement his fastball and curve.
Reliever pitcher Bobby Castillo, the only pitcher in the Dodger organization who threw a screwball, was sent to the Arizona Instructional League. Valenzuela quickly learned the new pitch and he became a top prospect.
Valenzuela started 1980 at Double-A San Antonio. He went 13–9 with a 3.10 ERA in 27 games (25 starts), finishing strong with an eight-game winning streak and 35 scoreless innings.
When the Dodgers promoted Valenzuela on Sept. 10, he joined a pennant race in which the Dodgers and Astros were tied atop the National League West. Valenzuela made his debut in relief on Sept. 15 during a 9–0 loss at Atlanta. He retired the first batter he faced, Bruce Benedict, on a flyout to center. Valenzuela allowed two unearned runs on one hit in two innings.
In his next nine games, Valenzuela allowed no runs in 15 2/3 innings and posted a 2–0 record with one save.
When Don Sutton left the Dodgers via free agency, Valenzuela became a candidate for the starting rotation in 1981. On the eve of the season opener, Valenzuela was told to stop pitching batting practice at Dodger Stadium. Left-hander Jerry Reuss had pulled a muscle while jogging in the parking lot. With veteran Burt Hooton (ingrown toenail) also unavailable, the 20-year-old Valenzuela would make his first Major League start on Opening Day at home.
On April 9, Valenzuela scattered five hits against Houston in a 2–0 victory in front of 50,511. It was the first chapter of “Fernandomania,” when Valenzuela opened the season with an 8–0 record and 0.50 ERA, including five shutouts and seven complete games.
Valenzuela remains the only Major League pitcher since Dave Ferris of the 1945 Boston Red Sox to win his first career eight starts.
By June, Valenzuela had become a global sensation. On June 9, he traveled to Washington D.C. for a luncheon at the White House hosted by President Ronald Reagan and Mexico President José López Portillo.
Valenzuela was the starting pitcher for the National League at the All-Star Game in Cleveland. During the strike-shortened regular season, Valenzuela went 13–7 with a 2.48 ERA in 25 starts. He led the National League in strikeouts (180) and shutouts (8), complete games (11) and innings pitched (192 1/3). He tied the Major League record for shutouts by a rookie, matching Ewell Russell of the 1913 Chicago White Sox.
Valenzuela became the first player to win Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award honors in the same season.
In the playoffs, Valenzuela was a combined 3–1 with a 2.21 ERA in 40 2/3 innings over five starts during three rounds against the Astros, Montreal Expos and New York Yankees. When the Dodgers lost the first two games of the World Series in New York, Valenzuela received the critical assignment for Game 3 in Los Angeles. He managed a 5–4 complete-game victory, despite 146 pitches, seven walks and two home runs allowed.
Valenzuela wasn’t needed for a potential Game 7 as Los Angeles won the next three games for its first World Series title since 1965.
After the season, Valenzuela married Linda Burgos, a schoolteacher from Mexico. The couple has four children.
Valenzuela remained an All-Star every year between 1982 and 1986. During that five-year period, he went 84–61 with a 3.04 ERA in 175 starts, including 18 shutouts and 73 complete games.
In 1986, he tied Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell’s record with five consecutive strikeouts during the All-Star Game at San Francisco. The batters were Don Mattingly (Yankees), Cal Ripken, Jr. (Orioles), Jesse Barfield (Blue Jays), Lou Whitaker (Tigers) and Ted Higuera (Brewers). Valenzuela also won 20 games for the only time in his career when he went 21–11 in 1986 and finished second to Houston’s Mike Scott in the Cy Young Award balloting. His career-high 20 complete games were the most by a Dodger pitcher since Sandy Koufax’s 27 in 1966.
From 1981 to 1987, Valenzuela led all Major League pitchers in strikeouts (1,448) and shutouts (27).
The workload finally caught up with Valenzuela in 1988 when he was placed on the injured list for the first time. On July 30, left the game after 4 2/3 innings at home against Houston due to shoulder problems. The injury ended a streak of 255 starts since Opening Day 1981.
He was diagnosed with a stretched anterior capsule in his left shoulder. After a rehabilitation program, he returned to the Dodgers in late September but did not appear in the postseason.
In 1989, he posted a 10–13 record and 3.43 ERA in 31 starts. In his final season with the Dodgers in 1990, Valenzuela went 13–13 with a 4.59 ERA in 33 starts. He pitched his only career no-hitter on July 29, 1990 during a 6–0 victory over St. Louis at Dodger Stadium. It occurred hours after Dave Stewart, Valenzuela’s former Dodger teammate, pitched a no-hitter for Oakland against Toronto. The final batter Valenzuela faced was another former teammate, Pedro Guerrero, who grounded into a 4–3 double play.
Valenzuela went to Spring Training in 1991 and participated in an exhibition game in Monterrey, Mexico against Higuera and the Brewers. The Dodgers released Valenzuela on March 28.
Valenzuela continued to pitch with the Angels (1991), Orioles (1993), Phillies (1994), Padres (1995–97) and Cardinals (1997). He retired with a lifetime 173–153 record and 3.54 ERA in 453 games (424 starts).
In Los Angeles history, Valenzuela ranks sixth in wins (141), fifth in starts (320), fifth in innings (2,348 2/3), fifth in shutouts (29) and fourth in complete games (107). Valenzuela is one of three Dodger left-handers in history to have at least one Cy Young Award, a 20-win season and a no-hitter. The others are Koufax and Clayton Kershaw.
In 2003, Valenzuela rejoined the Dodgers in the broadcasting booth, joining Hall of Famer Jaime Jarrín, who served as Valenzuela’s interpreter in 1981.
Valenzuela was named to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. He became a naturalized American citizen in 2015.
The Dodgers retired his №34 on Aug. 11, 2023 at Dodger Stadium. The city of Los Angeles declared it “Fernando Valenzuela Day” in a ceremony at City Hall.
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