Finally, we will have a first-hand story about baseball icon Fernando Valenzuela. We will be able to celebrate his fruitful career – and reminisce about the Fernandomania phenomenon that meant so much to our Latino community.
Universal Content Productions partnered with Valenzuela to tell his life story and career.
After 17 seasons in the major leagues — during the years 1980 to 1991 and 1993 to 1997 – and officially retiring last year, Valenzuela is back to commemorate his trajectory.
“[This is] the first time Fernando Valenzuela has ever told his story. This series will follow the legendary Dodgers pitcher from playing on dirt fields in rural Mexico to winning the World Series in 1981 — and changing baseball forever,” Universal Content Productions said about the upcoming project.
The two partners are thrilled about the series that’s in the works.
“UCP has assembled a great team. I am honored to be able to tell my story, my experiences, in my own words,” Valenzuela said about the production company.
Besides Valenzuela himself, other people working on this project include the sports agent Harlan Werner, a memorabilia collector and founder of The Memorabilia Network. The writers’ team has Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster (“Painkiller”). It will include executive production by Major League Baseball’s Nick Trotta.
Fernando Valenzuela’s legacy
Fernando Valenzuela is synonymous with “Fernandomania.” This term became popular during his time with the Dodgers in the 1980s as a rookie.
According to the Hollywood ReporterValenzuela “became a pop culture sensation” when he won his first eight starts with an 0.50 Earned Run Average. Moreover, he was such a good player that he became the first Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same season. He was also the key figure that led the Dodgers to their World Series title.
This pop culture moment means so much more to our Latin culture, though.
Fernando Valenzuela helped the connection between the Dodgers fandom with the City of Angels’ Mexican-American community.
The impact was so significant that the Dodgers included Spanish-speaking ushers in the stadium. They also noticed that walk-up sales increased from 8,000 to 12,000 fans when Valenzuela pitched.
Consequently, the Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcasts “more than doubled” when Valenzuela pitched.
After leaving his mark on the baseball field, Valenzuela retired from the game in 1997 and continued his sports career as a Spanish-language broadcaster in 2003.
Now, we will see this magic on screen and told by the legend himself.
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2023-05-03 18:35:30
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