The baseball world lost one of the most decorated Latino players in history and a Los Angeles Dodgers icon just days ahead of the 2024 World Series.
Fernando Valenzuela has passed away at age 63, the Dodgers announced late Tuesday. The former pitcher enjoyed a legendary 18-year career, spending 11 seasons with the Dodgers. He was one of the game’s top pitchers during his time in Los Angeles, earning six All-Star nods, a Cy Young win and winning a World Series title.
[Read more: At fans’ urging, Dodgers made exception in retiring Fernando Valenzuela’s number]
As the baseball and Los Angeles communities mourn the loss of Valenzuela, let’s remember some of his greatest moments.
Valenzuela makes his first career start on Opening Day in 1981
The lefty unexpectedly became the Opening Day starter for the World Series-contending Dodgers in 1981. Jerry Reuss, who was supposed to start Opening Day for the Dodgers, was injured the day before the 1981 season began. With Reuss sidelined and star Burt Hooton unable to go, the Dodgers tapped on the 20-year-old Valenzuela to pitch Opening Day.
After making his debut as a reliever in September 1979, Valenzuela seemed at home on the mound right away as a starter. He pitched a complete-game shutout against the Houston Astros, who beat the Dodgers in a one-game playoff the prior season. Valenzuela allowed just five hits with five strikeouts and two walks that day.
‘Fernandomania’ is born in the spring of 1981
The Dodgers had signed Valenzuela in July 1979, purchasing him from Yucatan of the Mexican League for $110,000. Prior to the Dodgers’ purchase of Valenzuela, scout Mike Brito allegedly told general manager Al Campanis that he “Just saw the Mexican Sandy Koufax.”
For a bit of a time in 1981, Valenzuela lived up to that billing. He rode his Opening Day start into one of the best stretches ever for a starting pitcher to open a season, tossing a complete game in each of his next seven starts. Four of those games were shutouts as Valenzuela went 8-0 with a 0.50 ERA over his first eight starts.
Following his Opening Day start, each Valenzuela’s next three starts were on the road. He finally returned to the mound at Dodger Stadium for his fifth start of the season on April 27 for a game against the San Francisco Giants. Fans eagerly anticipated Valenzuela’s start as they gained affection for not just how he performed, but also his style on the mound. The lefty had an unusual windup, kicking his right leg high as he briefly looked away from the plate before firing toward home.
Valenzuela also added the scarcely-used screwball to his repertoire early in his first full season on the mound, sharing that he had learned it while he was in the minor leagues.
So, when Valenzuela made his first start at Dodger Stadium, it wasn’t a surprise that there was a lot of buzz surrounding his start.
“It was a World Series atmosphere that gripped Dodger Stadium,” the AP recap of the game shared. “Fans were arriving as early as three hours before the game to witness the latest performance of the remarkable Fernando Valenzuela.”
A Dodgers fan took the field and kissed Fernando Valenzuela (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Los Angeles Times)
Valenzuela pitched one of the five shutouts in the first eight starts of his career that day, giving up seven hits and four walks while striking out seven Giants hitters.
‘Fernandomania’ heads to New York
As “Fernandomania” reached its apex in May 1981, the Dodgers were set to head to the East Coast for a series against the New York Mets. The Dodgers actually sent Valenzuela to New York early for his start, which gave him and his agent the opportunity to meet with the New York media. During the press conference, Valenzuela’s agent began discussing a new deal for his client.
Once the day of his start at Shea Stadium came, Valenzuela was met with much fanfare. Fans wore t-shirts that read “Fernando forever” while there were radio broadcasts of the game that were aired in 17 stations in Mexico. It was also the biggest crowd of the season at Shea Stadium, according to a New York Times story on the game.
On the mound, Valenzuela continued his win streak, but it wasn’t the prettiest complete-game shutout. He allowed seven hits and five walks on 142 pitches. However, he struck out 11 Mets hitters as he got out of two bases loaded jams.
”We had him on the ropes,” then-Mets manager Joe Torre told reporters at the time, ”but we let him escape. It’s hard to believe he’s only 20 years old. After he got off the hook in the first few innings, his poise carried him through. He may not shut out anybody for the rest of his life, but he sure as hell is a good pitcher.”
Fernando Valenzuela made a start at Shea Stadium at the height of “Fernandomania” in 1981. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Valenzuela makes history at the 1981 All-Star Game
Valenzuela eventually cooled off a bit in late May as his win streak ended. But his numbers remained strong through the season’s stoppage because of a labor strike in June 1981. He had a 9-4 record with a 2.45 ERA when the season was paused.
When the season resumed in August, Valenzuela was named to the NL All-Star team. He also started the game in Cleveland, becoming the second rookie to ever start an All-Star Game. He struck out two hitters and only pitched the first inning, shutting out the American League.
Fernando Valenzuela took the mound and started for the National League in the 1981 All-Star Game, becoming the second rookie to do so. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Valenzuela saves Dodgers’ season in 1981 NLDS
Valenzuela stepped up in a pair of major ways during the National League rounds of the 1981 playoffs. First, while facing elimination against the Astros in the NLDS, Valenzuela took the mound and kept Houston off the board for eight innings. He eventually gave up his first run in the ninth inning, but he remained in the game to pitch another complete game as the Dodgers won, 2-1. Valenzuela allowed just four hits and a walk in that game.
Fernando Valenzuela walked off the mound all smiles after pitching another complete game in Game 4 of the NLDS. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Valenzuela sends Dodgers to the World Series
The second notable outing from Valenzuela en route to the 1981 World Series came in Game 5 of the NLCS. After allowing three runs in six innings in a Game 2 loss to the Montreal Expos, Valenzuela regained his dominance when he took the mound as the Dodgers had a 3-1 lead in the series. He settled in after allowing a run in the first inning, giving up just one run on three hits, a walk and six strikeouts over 8.2 innings. Valenzuela was removed after the Expos got runners on in the bottom of the ninth, but the Dodgers held on to win, 2-1, to advance to the World Series.
Fernando Valenzuela won NL Cy Young in 1981. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Los Angeles Times)
Valenzuela tosses nearly 150 pitches in World Series win
In the only World Series start he ever made, Valenzuela did what he did for much of his rookie season, throwing a complete game. However, as the Dodgers trailed 2-0 in the series, the New York Yankees had Valenzuela on the ropes in Game 3. The Yankees took a 4-3 lead off Valenzuela in the third inning after Rick Cerone hit a two-run homer.
Valenzuela was able to get out of a jam in the fourth inning and was able to calm down after that. Even though he allowed nine hits and seven walks in the game, Valenzuela didn’t allow any more runs for the remainder of Game 3. He recorded six strikeouts as he wound up tossing 149 pitches in the Dodgers’ 5-4 win. Los Angeles would go on to beat the Yankees in the World Series.
[Related: A look back at 11 previous Yankees-Dodgers World Series matchups]
Fernando Valenzuela pitched in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series, helping the Dodgers get back on track before beating the Yankees in the Fall Classic. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images)
Valenzuela tosses a no-hitter in 1990
After making six straight All-Star games to open his career, Valenzuela’s career began to tail off in the late 1980s. He had a memorable performance in the 1990 season, though. He pitched the first and only no-hitter of his career against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 29, allowing just three walks to go with seven strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 6-0 win. It was actually the second no-hitter thrown in the majors that day, with Dave Stewert of the Oakland Athletics accomplishing the same feat against the Toronto Blue Jays earlier that day.
Valenzuela pitches in MLB’s first game ever in Mexico
It was only fitting for Valenzuela to play a role in MLB’s first trip to Mexico for a regular-season game. Pitching for the San Diego Padres at the time, Valenzuela took the mound against the Mets at Estadio Monterrey on Aug. 16, 1996. Before his start, Valenzuela actually tossed the game’s first pitch. Once the game started, Valenzuela felt at home in his native country. He gave up just three runs in six innings as part of a Padres 15-10 win.
The Dodgers honor Valenzuela on a pair of occasions
Following his retirement from playing baseball after the 1997 season, Valenzuela rejoined the Dodgers organization in 2003. He began his multi-decade stretch as one of the team’s broadcasters for their Spanish broadcasts, first calling games on radio before moving to television in 2015.
Ahead of Game 2 in the 2017 World Series, Valenzuela threw out the first pitch with some help from long-time Dodgers announcer Vin Scully.
Valenzuela was honored by the organization twice in recent years before his passing. First, he was tabbed to throw the first pitch at the 2022 All-Star Game, which was held at Dodger Stadium.
The more memorable honor for Valenzuela came in 2023. After keeping his No. 34 out of circulation for decades, the Dodgers opted to retire Valenzuela’s in August of that season. The team broke with its standard policy of only retiring the jersey numbers of Hall of Famers, with Valenzeuala becoming the 11th player whose jersey number was retired by the Dodgers.
Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34 was retired by the Dodgers in 2023. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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