| Fernando Valenzuela | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Valenzuela in 1986 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 1, 1960 Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico | |
| Died: October 22, 2024 (aged 63) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 15, 1980, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 14, 1997, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 173–153 |
| Earned run average | 3.54 |
| Strikeouts | 2,074 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Mexican Professional | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2014 |
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando βalenˈswela]; November 1, 1960 – October 22, 2024) was a Mexican-American professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except for a one-year sabbatical in Mexico in 1992). He played for six MLB teams, most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him in 1979 and gave him his MLB debut in 1980. Valenzuela batted and threw left-handed, with an unorthodox windup. He was one of a small number of pitchers who regularly threw a screwball in the modern era.
Valenzuela enjoyed his breakout year in 1981, when "Fernandomania" rapidly catapulted him from relative obscurity to stardom. He won his first eight starts, five of them shutouts, and dazzled not just the Dodgers and their fans, but all of Major League Baseball. He finished with a win-loss record of 13–7 and had a 2.48 earned run average (ERA) in a season that was shortened by a player's strike. He became the first, and as of 2024, only player to win both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season.[1] The Dodgers won the World Series that year.
Valenzuela peaked from 1981 to 1986, when he was named a National League (NL) All-Star in each season. He won an NL-leading 21 games in 1986, when he was a runner-up to Mike Scott of the Houston Astros for the Cy Young Award.[2] Valenzuela was also one of the better hitting pitchers of his era. He had ten career home runs and was occasionally used by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda as a pinch-hitter.[3] In 1986, he signed the largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history ($5.5 million/3 years).[4] However, nagging shoulder problems diminished the remainder of his Dodgers career.[5] He was on the Dodgers' 1988 World Series championship team, but sat out the postseason with a shoulder injury. Valenzuela threw a no-hitter in 1990 before the Dodgers released him prior to the 1991 season. He spent the rest of his major league career with the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals, before pitching a couple of seasons in Mexico in his 40s.
Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers organization after retiring, serving as a broadcaster from 2003 to 2024, the year of his death.[6][7] The Dodgers retired his No. 34 in 2023. His career highlights include a record of 173–153, with an ERA of 3.54. His 41.5 career wins above replacement (according to Baseball-Reference) is the highest of any Mexican-born MLB player.
Early life
[edit]Valenzuela was born on November 1, 1960, in Etchohuaquila, a small town within the municipality of Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico.[8][9] He was the youngest of 12 children.[10] His parents, Avelino and María, were poor farmers who worked the land with the help of their children[11] and were of Mayo indigenous ancestry.[12][13]
Playing career
[edit]Early career in Mexico
[edit]In 1977, Valenzuela began his professional baseball career, signing with the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League. A year later, he was sent to the Guanajuato Tuzos of the Mexican Central League, posting a 5–6 win–loss record with a 2.23 earned run average (ERA). The following year, the Mexican Central League was absorbed into the expanded Mexican League, automatically elevating then 18-year-old Valenzuela to the Triple-A level. Pitching for the Leones de Yucatán that year, Valenzuela went 10–12 with a 2.49 ERA and 141 strikeouts.[14]
A number of Major League Baseball (MLB) teams scouted Valenzuela during this time. Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, conscious of the large Latino population in Los Angeles, had wanted a Mexican ace pitcher for some time.[15] Even so, the Dodgers found Valenzuela by accident. They sent scout Mike Brito to a game in Mexico to evaluate a shortstop named Ali Uscanga. Valenzuela threw three balls to Uscanga to fall behind in the count and then threw three straight strikes for the strikeout. Brito said later that at that point, he "forgot all about the shortstop".[16] The Dodgers bought out Valenzuela's Liga contract on July 6, 1979, for $120,000 (about $521,158 in 2024), of which $20,000 went to Valenzuela and $100,000 went to the team.[10][17] The New York Yankees subsequently offered $150,000, but the Leones honored their original deal, and Valenzuela became a Dodger.[11]
Move to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization
[edit]After acquiring Valenzuela in the summer of 1979, the Dodgers assigned him to the Lodi Dodgers of the High-A California League, where he posted a 1–2 record and a 1.13 earned run average (ERA) in limited action.[18] Brito worried that Valenzuela did not throw with enough velocity and felt that he needed to develop an off-speed pitch, so the Dodgers had their pitcher Bobby Castillo teach him to throw the screwball before the 1980 season.[19] In 1980 Valenzuela was promoted to the Double-A San Antonio Dodgers, where he led the Texas League with 162 strikeouts and finished the season with a 13–9 win-loss record and a 3.10 ERA.[20]
Valenzuela was called up to the major leagues in September 1980, serving as a reliever in the last month of the season.[21] In his first game on September 15 against Atlanta, his catcher was Mike Scioscia, who spoke some Spanish; Valenzuela spoke little English.[11] Valenzuela's excellent performances as a reliever (172⁄3 scoreless innings of relief in 10 games) helped the Dodgers tie the Houston Astros for the NL West Division lead. He earned two wins and a save. However, the Dodgers then lost a one-game tiebreaker—and thus, the division championship—to the Astros.[21]
"Fernandomania"
[edit]
Following his successful cameo as a reliever in 1980, Valenzuela transitioned to a full-time starter role in his 1981 rookie season. He was unexpectedly named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter as a rookie after Jerry Reuss was injured 24 hours before his scheduled start, and Burt Hooton was not ready to fill in.[22] He was the first rookie to ever start Opening Day for the Dodgers.[17] At first, Valenzuela did not think manager Tommy Lasorda was serious.[23] However, he accepted the honor and shut out the Houston Astros 2–0.[22]
Valenzuela enjoyed one of the hottest starts to a career in MLB history. He began the season 8–0 with seven complete games, five shutouts and an ERA of 0.50.[24] In addition to his dominance on the mound, Valenzuela's unusual and flamboyant pitching motion—including a glance skyward at the apex of each wind-up—drew attention of its own.[25] He said that he developed the habit spontaneously during his time in the Dodgers' minor league system.[26] His most prominent and effective pitch was the screwball,[27] which had not been a popular pitch for decades.[28]
An instant media icon, Valenzuela drew large crowds from Los Angeles' Latino community every time he pitched, and his rookie 1981 Topps and Fleer baseball cards were in high demand. The craze surrounding Valenzuela came to be known as "Fernandomania".[29] The Dodgers' radio ratings skyrocketed from 3.4 to 8.6 during Fernandomania.[22] His starts drew large crowds in every city.[24] During his warm-up routine at Dodger Stadium, the PA system would play ABBA's 1976 hit song Fernando. He became the first player to win the Rookie of the Year Award and the Cy Young Award in the same season, and finished fifth in NL MVP voting. He was also the first rookie to lead the NL in strikeouts. The Dodgers won the World Series that season.[22]
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Valenzuela was less dominant after the 1981 player strike wiped out the middle third of the season, but the left-hander still finished with a 13–7 record and a 2.48 ERA. He led the majors in shutouts (8) and strikeouts (180), and led the NL in complete games (11) and innings pitched (192.1). He was also second in the NL in wins (13). In the NL West Division Series against the Houston Astros, Valenzuela became the youngest pitcher to start the first game of any postseason series. He also pitched a complete game in game 3 of the World Series against the New York Yankees.[30] In total, he went 3–1 in the postseason with a 2.21 ERA in 402⁄3 innings,[31] and he helped the Dodgers win their first World Series since 1965.[32]
In addition to his skills on the mound, Valenzuela was also an unusually good batter for a pitcher. During his rookie season, Valenzuela batted .250 and struck out just nine times in 64 at-bats.[3] He became the first Dodgers pitcher to win the NL Silver Slugger Award.[33]
Valenzuela achieved this success without knowing the English language (at the time). Scioscia gave some of the credit to Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who had learned Spanish during his time in the Caribbean winter leagues, and "gave him all instructions in Spanish."[34] In addition, Scioscia (who caught all but two of Valenzuela's starts that season due to a favorable platoon split[35]) "learned Spanish just so he could communicate with Fernando", according to Lasorda.[36] In game 3 of the World Series, Valenzuela was struggling when Lasorda substituted Scioscia, with whom the pitcher was more familiar, for Steve Yeager. Lasorda credited Scioscia with steadying Valenzuela.[35][36]
"El Toro"
[edit]
Following his debut, Valenzuela, nicknamed El Toro (the Bull) by fans, settled down and established himself as a workhorse starter and one of the league's best pitchers.[29] Prior to the 1983 season, Valenzuela became the first player to be awarded a $1 million salary in arbitration (equivalent to $3.16 million in 2023), with his drawing power cited as part of the pitch.[23][37]
Before the 1986 season, he signed a contract worth $5.5 million over three years (equivalent to $15.29 million in 2023), then the wealthiest contract for a pitcher in baseball history. His annual average salary of $1,833,333 and 1988 salary of $2.05 million (equivalent to $5.28 million in 2023) also both set records for a pitcher.[4]
In 1986, Valenzuela finished 21–11 with a 3.14 ERA and led the league in wins, complete games and innings pitched. He lost a narrow vote for the 1986 National League Cy Young Award to the Astros' Mike Scott.[38] He also won the Gold Glove.[39] In his sixth straight All-Star appearance in 1986,[40] Valenzuela made history by striking out five consecutive American League batters, tying a record set by fellow left-handed screwballer Carl Hubbell in the 1934 contest.[41]
Valenzuela's performance declined in 1987 with a 14–14 win–loss record and 3.98 ERA.[42] In 1988, a year in which the Dodgers won the World Series, he was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career due to left shoulder problems.[42] He had pitched 255 games without missing a start.[40] Valenzuela was out for two months,[43] before making a cameo appearance with a three-inning start and a four-inning relief stint.[44] He finished the season 5–8 with a 4.24 ERA,[42] before sitting out the playoffs to rest.[44] Although the Dodgers awarded him a second World Series ring, he refused to wear it, explaining that "I didn't do anything."[17]
He improved slightly in 1989 and went 10–13; he posted a 13–13 record in 1990. He had one last great moment on June 29, 1990, when he threw a 6–0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals just hours after the Oakland Athletics' Dave Stewart had thrown one against the Toronto Blue Jays.[40] According to Lasorda, Valenzuela predicted to some of his teammates, "That's great, now maybe we'll see another no-hitter".[45] (Scioscia recalled that Valenzuela's words were "You saw [a no-hitter] on TV, now you're going to see one in person."[46][47]) It was the first time in the modern baseball era that two no-hitters were thrown on the same day.[45]
Post-Dodgers career
[edit]
After pitching ineffectively in spring training in 1991, Valenzuela was released by the Dodgers. At the time of Valenzuela's release, several Dodgers leaders, including Lasorda, Fred Claire, and Peter O'Malley, praised Valenzuela for creating exciting memories over several seasons and indicated that it was a difficult decision to release him.[43] However, others described his cut as a cost-cutting move,[29] as the Dodgers were facing a deadline to guarantee Valenzuela's $2.55 million contract.[48][49]
With respect to the major leagues, 1991 and 1992 were essentially lost seasons for Valenzuela. Being cut late in 1991 spring training, when most rosters were already fixed, made it hard for Valenzuela to find a new team that year.[29][17] He signed with the California Angels later that summer, but played in only two games and posted a 12.15 ERA.[40] In 1991, he was out of the majors entirely and played for Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League, going 10–9 with a 3.86 overall ERA, including an improved 2.70 in the second half. He completed 13 games in 22 starts.[50]
Valenzuela returned to the majors in 1993 with the Baltimore Orioles.[40] He was relatively healthy, making 31 starts, but gave up more walks than strikeouts for only the second time in his career (the other time being his injury-plagued 1988 season). His ERA was an unimpressive 4.94. He returned to the Mexican League for the start of 1994, but got another opportunity in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies, who needed injury replacements for their starting rotation. He pitched well, starting 7 games and recording a 3.00 ERA until a players' strike wiped out the remainder of the season.[51]
Valenzuela moved back to Southern California to play for the San Diego Padres, with whom he enjoyed his last successful season in 1996, going 13–8 with a 3.62 ERA.[40] On June 13, 1997, the Padres traded Valenzuela, Scott Livingstone, and Phil Plantier to the St. Louis Cardinals for Rich Batchelor, Danny Jackson, and Mark Sweeney.[52] He made five starts for the Cardinals, ending his MLB career with a record of 173–153 and a 3.54 ERA.[3]
The Dodgers invited Valenzuela to spring training in 1999, but he declined the offer.[53] In his mid-40s, he played a couple of seasons in the Mexican Pacific League for Águilas de Mexicali.[18]
Hitting
[edit]Valenzuela was considered an atypically good hitter for a pitcher. His best year at the plate was 1990—his last year with the Dodgers—when he had a .304 batting average with five doubles, a home run, and 11 runs batted in (RBIs) in 69 at-bats. That gave him a 101 OPS+, meaning Valenzuela ranked just above average among all National League hitters that year, including non-pitchers. He batted .200 for his career (187 hits in 936 at-bats, roughly equivalent to two seasons as a position player) with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, and 84 RBIs.[3] Valenzuela was even used on occasion as a pinch-hitter, batting .368 (7-for-19) as such. Twice while with the Dodgers, Valenzuela was called upon to play the outfield and first base in marathon extra-inning games in which he did not pitch.[54] He won the Silver Slugger award for pitchers in 1981 and 1983.[33]
Retirement
[edit]
Valenzuela was angry at the Dodgers over his 1991 release for beyond a decade. Although he lived close to Dodger Stadium, he boycotted games and team-sponsored activities.[29] In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers organization as the Spanish-language radio color commentator for National League West games, joining Jaime Jarrín and Pepe Yñiguez in the Spanish-language booth. In 2015, he made the jump to television, becoming the Spanish-language color commentator for the Dodgers' cable affiliate SportsNet LA.[55] He stepped down from broadcasting in the last week of the 2024 regular season.[56]
Valenzuela served on Team Mexico's World Baseball Classic coaching staff in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017.[57]
Valenzuela purchased the Mexican League team Tigres de Quintana Roo in 2017.[58]
Legacy
[edit]Statistical profile and league-wide honors
[edit]Valenzuela's 41.45 career wins above replacement is the highest for a Mexican player in MLB history.[59] He was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on August 23, 2003, in a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium.[60] In 2005, he was named one of three starting pitchers on MLB's Latino Legends Team.[61] In 2013, he was enshrined into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.[16] Valenzuela was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2006.[62]
On July 6, 2019, the Mexican Baseball League commemorated Valenzuela's legacy by retiring his jersey number 34 from the entire league.[63]
In the 2003 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Valenzuela's first year of eligibility, he received 6.3% of the vote. He dropped off the ballot the following year.[23] As of August 2023, he has never been considered for induction by the Veterans' Committee.[64] Commentators have occasionally questioned whether Valenzuela's sharp mid-career decline was due to overuse (Valenzuela led the league in batters faced three times in his first seven seasons), and whether he could have accumulated the counting stats necessary for the Hall of Fame if modern best practices had been in place during the 1980s.[64] The Hall of Fame Museum contains several pieces of Valenzuela memorabilia, including a signed ball from his June 29, 1990, no-hitter.[65]
Impact on the Los Angeles Dodgers
[edit]
Valenzuela was an iconic figure for the Chicano (Mexican-American) community in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times wrote that his impact "transform[ed] what had been predominantly a white [Dodger] fan base."[23] The Dodgers had previously courted controversy among Los Angeles' Latino community due to the location of Dodger Stadium. Starting in 1951, the city of Los Angeles had struggled to evict a predominantly Latino, working-class community in the Chavez Ravine neighborhood (see Battle of Chavez Ravine).[66] The city promised the nearly 1,800 displaced families, which also included Italian-Americans and Chinese-Americans, that it would allow the families to return after building a public housing project on the site.[67] However, Norris Poulson was elected mayor in 1953 on a platform opposing public housing, and the housing plan was cancelled.[66] When the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that they were looking for a new city, Poulson sold the Chavez Ravine site to the team at a below-market price, allowing the Dodgers to build Dodger Stadium.[67][68] Although the Dodgers, strictly speaking, were not responsible for evicting the residents of Chavez Ravine, they were the greatest beneficiary of the eviction, and thereby became a target of resentment for many Latinos in the area.[23]
Valenzuela's rise is credited with helping heal the divide between Latinos and the Dodger franchise.[69][15][70] Jaime Jarrín, the Dodgers' longtime Spanish-language broadcaster, estimated that before Fernandomania, no more than 10% of fans at Dodger home games were Latino, a figure that rose to 54% by 2015.[71] (As of 2024, the Dodgers' internal estimate is that over 40% of their fanbase is Hispanic.[15]) In addition to Mexican-Americans, teammate Dusty Baker noted that other Latin Americans rallied behind Valenzuela.[72] Although the Dodgers consistently led the majors in attendance before Valenzuela's debut (see List of Major League Baseball attendance records), his performances drew even larger crowds to Dodger Stadium. In 1981, the Dodgers' average attendance was 42,523, which rose to 48,430 when Valenzuela started at home.[23] Vin Scully later said that "Fernandomania bordered on a religious experience."[65]
The Dodgers retired Valenzuela's jersey number 34 on August 11, 2023, celebrating the event with a "Fernandomania" weekend on August 11–13.[73] Along with Junior Gilliam, Valenzuela is one of only two Dodgers to receive this honor despite not being in the Baseball Hall of Fame.[74] Previously, the Dodgers had attempted to honor Valenzuela by keeping his No. 34 out of circulation[75] and creating a new category of "Legends of Dodger Baseball" in 2019.[76] The Dodgers also invited Valenzuela to throw the ceremonial first pitch at Game 2 of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium, where he was introduced by recently-retired announcer Vin Scully and joined by Steve Yeager.[77][78]
On October 26, 2010, ESPN broadcast a documentary commemorating Valenzuela's arrival with the Dodgers titled Fernando Nation as part of their 30 for 30 documentary series.[79]
Personal life
[edit]In 1981, Valenzuela married Linda Burgos, a schoolteacher from Mexico. Early in his career, Valenzuela and his family spent offseasons between the Mexican cities of Etchohuaquila and Mérida.[80] The couple had four children, Fernando Jr., Ricardo, Linda, and Maria Fernanda.[81][48] Fernando Jr. played in the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox organizations as a first baseman before switching to independent league baseball and Mexican minor league baseball.[82]
Valenzuela became a U.S. citizen on July 22, 2015, at a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles.[83] Following his naturalization, President Obama appointed him a special ambassador for citizenship and naturalization, "promoting the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of citizenship among eligible lawful permanent residents."[84]
Valenzuela participated in two Tournament of Roses Parades—in 1983 aboard the float from the Government of Mexico and in 2008 aboard the Los Angeles Dodgers' float. In 1981, Valenzuela participated in the East Los Angeles Christmas Parade as Grand Marshal.[85]
Illness and death
[edit]On October 1, 2024, it was announced that Valenzuela had been hospitalized for an undisclosed illness,[86] which was subsequently reported to have been liver cancer.[87] The Dodgers announced the following day that he would not be in the "broadcast booth for the remainder of this year to focus on his health."[88]
Valenzuela died in Los Angeles on October 22, 2024, at the age of 63.[23] A tribute to him is planned for the 2024 World Series.[89] The Dodgers announced that they would wear a uniform patch honoring Valenzuela during the 2024 World Series and 2025 season.[90]
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