Fenando Valenzuela, the left-handed Dodgers pitcher who took Los Angeles by storm within the Nineteen Eighties, has died at 63. The membership introduced the information on social media.
Left hander Valenzuela, who was born and raised within the rural city of Etchohuaquila within the Mexican state of Sonora, was referred to as up from the minors on the very finish of the Dodgers’ 1980 season and impressed proper out of the gate.
In his official rookie yr, which started when he was simply 20, Valenzuela gained the Nationwide League Cy Younger Award and was named NL Rookie of the 12 months, turning into the primary participant to take action in the identical season. He was additionally the MLB strikeouts chief, being the primary rookie to realize that mark, as properly. The Athletic has referred to as it “the best opening to a profession in baseball historical past.” Oh, and the workforce additionally beat the Yankees within the World Collection that yr with its standout rookie pulling out a vital Recreation 3 win.
Unusual coincidence: Starting Friday, the Dodgers and the Yankees will face one another within the World Collection for the primary time since 1981. Recollections of Valenzuela’s efficiency that yr are prone to be on the thoughts of many longtime Dodger followers.
Main League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred Jr. in a press release late in the present day referred to as Valenzuela “an impressive ambassador for baseball” and introduced, “We are going to honor Fernando’s reminiscence in the course of the 2024 World Collection at Dodger Stadium.”
Valenzuela had a memorable pitching movement which included a glance skyward on the high of his wind-up. That, plus his youth, dominance and attraction to the Latino market made Valenzuela good for Los Angeles.
Crowds flocked to see him. Throughout his warm-up routine at Dodger Stadium, the PA system would play ABBA’s irresistible 1976 hit “Fernando.” What adopted was often known as “Fernandomania,” an electrical love affair between the city and its favourite pitcher.
Valenzuela performed for the Dodgers for 10 years earlier than shifting on to a collection of groups that included the Angels, the Orioles, the Phillies, the Padres and the Cardinals. He retired in 1997.
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After baseball, Valenzuela discovered a second profession as a broadcaster, calling Dodgers video games for 22 years earlier than all of the sudden, earlier this month, saying he wouldn’t be working postseason matchups so he may “deal with his well being.”
Late final yr, the Dodgers lastly retired Valenzuela‘s No. 34 jersey, the culminating occasion after the town council declared of “Fernando Valenzuela Day.” Certainly, Valenzuela’s title is on a really brief record of Los Angeles’ most revered sports activities figures, alongside Magic Johnson and some others.
In a pregame second, the then-62-year-old Valenzuela admitted, “It’s very emotional” to a crowded room of English and Spanish-language media hours earlier than the ceremony. “I by no means anticipated it.”
Bruce Haring contributed to this report.
