Dodgers’ legend Fernando Valenzuela dies

The Dodgers announced the death of legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at the age of 63.

The team said he died at a Los Angeles hospital but didn’t give a cause of death, ESPN reported.

Valenzuela was raised in a small Mexican town but became a game-changer for baseball and inspired what became “Fernandomania,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

He was the youngest of 12 born in Etchohuaquila, a farming village in Mexico in 1960. The village had only 140 people living in it. Valenzuela and his brothers would play baseball and in 1977 the eventual major leaguer was signed by the village’s local team, the Navojoa Mayos.

“By that point, I told myself, ‘Now it’s a career, it’s not for fun,’” Valenzuela told the newspaper in 2021.

He played for several teams before he was signed by the Yucatan Leones in the Mexican League in 1979. By that time, he had already caught the eye of a major league scout, who eventually signed him.

Valenzuela played the 1979 for the Class High-A Lodi Dodgers, but the scout, Mike Brito realized the pitcher needed a bit more to make it to the majors. Brito told Valenzuela to learn how to throw a split-fingered fastball. Brito connected him with Bobby Castillo to learn how to throw a screwball. Brito proved to be right and after a few games with the Dodgers’ Double-A team, was called up to the Dodgers on Sept. 15, 1980, pitching two innings in a loss to the Atlanta Braves. He had a strikeout in the loss.

In 1981, he was part of the Dodgers’ spring training and was part of the pitching rotation. He was also the opening day starter that season that would eventually lead him to become the first and only player to win both the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season, KTLA and the Times reported.

Valenzuela also won his first eight starts, five of which were shutouts, during his debut games.

“It is the most puzzling, wonderful, rewarding thing I think we’ve seen in baseball in many, many years,” Vin Scully said after Valenzuela’s fifth shutout. “And somehow this youngster from Mexico, with the pixie smile on his face, acts like he’s pitching batting practice.”

Eventually, the Dodgers won the World Series that season, beating the New York Yankees in six games. Valenzuela, with two games in the loss column, beat the Yankees in Game 3, throwing a complete game and 147 pitches. It was the start of four consecutive victories that gave the Dodgers their fifth championship in team history.

Valenzuela was an All-Star every year from 1981 to 1986, a double Silver Slugger Award winner and a Gold Glove awardee.

In addition to the Dodgers, Valenzuela also played for the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Fillies, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals before returning in 1997, according to KTLA.

After he left the game he became a Spanish-language broadcaster for the team, but left the position in September without explaining why, KTLA reported. It was believed he was hospitalized dealer this month.

In 2023, the Dodgers retired Valenzuea’s number, an honor typically saved for someone who was selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame, which the pitcher was not, the Times reported.

He is represented in the museum with several artifacts including a ball from a 1990 no-hitter, KTLA reported.

Valenzuela was inducted into the Mexican Professional Hall of Fame in 2014 and eventually had his No. 34 jersey retired in the Mexican League. In 2019, the Dodgers named him one of the “Legends of Dodger Baseball” and named him to the Ring of Honor in 2023.

He served as part of the coaching staff for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017 and was a part owner of the Mexican League team Tigres de Quintana Roo, according to KTLA.

The news came days before the Dodgers are facing off against the New York Yankees in the World Series which starts on Friday at Dodger Stadium. A ceremony will be held before the game to honor Valenzuela, ESPN reported.

“Fernando was an outstanding ambassador for baseball,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He consistently supported the growth of the game through the World Baseball Classic and at MLB events across his home country. ... Fernando will always remain a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired. We will honor Fernando’s memory during the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium.”

Valenzuela leaves behind his wife, four children and seven grandchildren, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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