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Fernando Valenzuela, a Los Angeles icon who became a sensation for the Dodgers and the city’s Hispanic population through “Fernandomania,” died Tuesday at age 63, the Dodgers announced.
The cause of his death has not yet been released.
Valenzuela was a Spanish-language radio announcer for the Dodgers, but stepped away from his role before the start of the 2024 postseason to “focus on his health” and the team said in a statement that he aimed to return for the 2025 season.
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The career of Valenzuela, a left-hander from Navojoa, Sonora, began completely by chance. In 1978, legendary Dodgers scout Mike Brito went to the town of Silao in Guanajuato, Mexico, to see a shortstop named Ali Uscanga. During one game, the unprecedented Valenzuela came in to provide relief after trailing by a 3-0 count, throwing three straight strikes against Uscanga to strike him out. Brito recalled that at that moment “he completely forgot about the shortstop.”
The Dodgers quickly signed Valenzuela in 1979 and, after a brief time in the minor leagues, he debuted in Major League Baseball (MLB) the following season. But it was at the beginning of the 1981 season when the left-hander shot to stardom.
Valenzuela was named the Opening Day starter for the Los Angeles team after Jerry Reuss was ruled out due to injury. Against the Houston Astros, Valenzuela pitched a complete shutout game, allowing five hits and striking out five batters, en route to a 2-0 victory.
“It seems like just yesterday this little chubby 20-year-old started Opening Day for us and lit up the whole world,” catcher Mike Scioscia said of that day. “What you couldn’t see was the ice water in his veins. It showed how spectacular and magical everything was.”
The game was the start of a sensational season for Valenzuela. He began the season with an 8-0 record in his first eight appearances, all of which were complete games, five of which were shutouts. Valenzuela became an overnight star due to his dominance. Playing in a city with a large Hispanic population that has resided in the area for a long time, the community came together and applauded Valenzuela and flocked to Dodger Stadium to watch him pitch, igniting the craze that became known as “Fernandomania.” .
He finished the season with a 13-7 record and a 2.48 ERA and won the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards (the first player to do so) as the Dodgers won the 1981 World Series, which included a victory with a complete game in Game 3 of the Fall Classic against the New York Yankees.
Nicknamed “El Toro,” Valenzuela became a household name in Los Angeles while pitching 10 more seasons for the Dodgers. Beloved by Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, Valenzuela was an All-Star every year from 1981 to 1986. He failed to repeat his All-Star numbers toward the second half of his time in Dodger blue, but he added one more signature moment in his final year with the team.
On June 29, 1990, Scioscia and many Dodgers players watched Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart throw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays. Valenzuela was scheduled to pitch that night against the St. Louis Cardinals, and after Stewart completed his performance, Scioscia said Valenzuela gave his teammates a bold prediction.
“You just saw a no-hitter on TV. Now you’re going to see one in person,” Valenzuela said.
The prediction turned out to be a spoiler. Valenzuela struck out seven batters en route to his first career no-hitter. After Valenzuela got Pedro Guerrero to ground out for a game-ending double play to complete the feat, fellow Dodgers legend Vin Scully made one of his signature calls of his 67-year career as a broadcaster.
“If you have a hat, throw it in the sky!” Scully proclaimed.
Valenzuela bounced around several teams over the next seven years before ending his MLB career in 1997. In 17 seasons, he had a record of 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA, but in his time with the Dodgers, he had a record of 141-116 and a 3.31 ERA, ranking ninth in franchise history in wins.
Despite all of his accomplishments and the fans he was responsible for bringing to Dodger Stadium, Valenzuela did not receive the highest achievement the team bestows on its former players for quite some time.
The franchise’s criteria for retiring a jersey number is that the player must spend the majority of his career with the team and must be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, with the exception of former player and coach Jim Gilliam in 1978. Valenzuela never made the Hall of Fame after spending two years on the ballot in 2003-04. Although he never made it to Cooperstown, no Dodgers player wore Valenzuela’s number 34 after his playing days for Los Angeles ended.
Still, Dodger fans spent decades advocating for Valenzuela to be included in the team’s ring of honor, citing his importance to the city and the fan base, as well as paving the way for Mexican baseball players to reach the older ones. Then, more than 30 years after he threw his last pitch for the Dodgers, the
The team retired his number in August 2023.
Although current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called the honor “too long overdue,” Valenzuela didn’t believe that day would come. When they told him it was going to happen, the first thing he remembered being able to say was “really?”
“It really took me by surprise. I never expected it,” Valenzuela said.
But it’s hard to argue against what Valenzuela did for baseball and what he means to many Dodger fans. For a franchise that has names like “Jackie” and “Vin” synonymous with the team, “Fernando” is also linked to the team. It’s hard to miss a No. 34 jersey in a crowd at Dodger Stadium. As Dodgers radio announcer Charley Steiner put it, Valenzuela “transcends what he did for the Dodgers.”
Translation Joanna Jacobo Rivera
