LOS ANGELES — One of the most beloved figures in franchise history, responsible for bringing an entire demographic into the team’s fan base, Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela died Tuesday night.
Valenzuela, 63, had been hospitalized for the past few weeks with health problems his family preferred to keep private.
“This is a crushing blow even though I knew he was in really, really bad shape,” said retired broadcaster Jaime Jarrin, who served as Valenzuela’s interpreter during the Mexican left-hander’s first years in the majors and then as his broadcast partner later. “He was very special to me – and to Dodger fans.”
Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten called Valenzuela “one of the most influential Dodgers ever” and said he “belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes.”
The Dodgers acknowledged that last year when they officially retired his uniform number “34” in a ceremony at the stadium. Previously, the Dodgers had restricted the retired number honor to players elected to the Hall of Fame (with the exception of Jim Gilliam).
“I’m so glad they broke protocol and retired his number. It was well-deserved,” said Orel Hershiser, a teammate of Valenzuela’s for several seasons. “His impact on baseball, on the L.A. Dodgers, the city and what he meant to Latino fans changed the way Dodger baseball was seen.
“I hate to compare him to Jackie Robinson. It wasn’t breaking the color barrier. But what he did … he was a change agent.”
Valenzuela’s phenomenal start to the 1981 season ignited the “Fernandomania” craze and boosted interest in the team among the region’s Mexican-American fan base.
His death comes as the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Valenzuela would be honored during the series at Dodger Stadium.
Born in a small town in Navajoa, Mexico as the youngest of 12 children, Valenzuela was discovered by legendary scout Mike Brito in 1978. Brito was on a scouting mission in Guanajuato to evaluate a shortstop on one of the teams. Valenzuela came on in relief and struck that player out.
“I forgot all about the shortstop,” Brito said years later.
The Dodgers signed Valenzuela in 1979 and brought him to the majors a year later after just 30 games in the minors. He went 2-0 and didn’t give up an earned run in 17⅔ innings as a September callup in 1980.
But Valenzuela’s big breakout came in 1981 when he was pressed into duty as the Dodgers’ Opening Day starter when Jerry Reuss had to be scratched with an injury.
“The way he got that first start,” Hershiser recalled. “He had just thrown his side session the day before but when they asked him he just said, ‘Sure, I can take the ball.’ … He was just a baseball player through and through.”
Valenzuela threw a complete-game shutout on Opening Day and a ‘mania’ was born. He started the season 8-0 with eight complete games, five of them shutouts. A stout figure, his distinctive windup, eyes turned skyward, and unique pitch mix featuring an unhittable screwball coupled with his youth (he hadn’t turned 21 yet) and small-town background made him a sensation.
The large Hispanic community in Los Angeles had never embraced the Dodgers after they unceremoniously took over Chavez Ravine to build Dodger Stadium, displacing many in the process. But they embraced Valenzuela and filled the stadium for his starts. During Valenzuela’s warmups, ABBA’s hit “Fernando” blared from the speakers. Latino fans turned out in large numbers on the road too – to see “El Toro,” the Bull.
Jarrin was by his side throughout “Fernandomania.”
“He meant so much to the Latino fan base,” Jarrin said Tuesday. “No other baseball player did what he did. He made so many baseball fans, more than anyone else. People who came here from Mexico, from Latin America didn’t care about baseball. They didn’t. But they became fans of Fernando and because of him they became baseball fans.”
Manfred acknowledged that, calling Valenzuela “one of the most impactful players of his generation.”
“Fernando will always remain a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired,” Manfred said.
The 1981 season was interrupted by a players strike but Valenzuela finished the season 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and became the first (and only) player to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the same season. He became a cult hero practically overnight.
Fernando Valenzuela as a 20-year-old rookie in 1981:
35.0-inning scoreless streak
All-Star Game starting pitcher
Cy Young
Rookie of the Year
World Series title
No other pitcher in MLB history has accomplished all of those feats over his entire career (same season or not). pic.twitter.com/u0mwihfKly
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 23, 2024
“He turned the game into a religion,” Jarrin once said.
He then went 3-1 in the postseason as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series.
“He galvanized the fan base with the Fernandomania season of 1981 and has remained close to our hearts ever since,” Kasten said.
Valenzuela pitched 11 seasons with the Dodgers, making the All-Star team in six consecutive years (1981-86). In his final season with the Dodgers, Valenzuela summoned the magic one more time, pitching a no-hitter on June 29, 1990.
“If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!” Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed in his game call.
Before the game, the Dodgers were gathered around a TV to watch Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart throw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“You just saw a no-hitter on TV,” legend has Valenzuela telling them. “Now you will see one in person.”
His shoulder worn down from all the years of being “El Toro” for Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Valenzuela bounced around for seven more seasons with four different teams including the Angels. Working his way through the minor leagues before joining the Angels for two starts in 1991, Valenzuela started a rehab game in the California League at venerable Palm Springs Stadium. Thousands showed up, climbing the wrought-iron fence ringing the stadium when lines at the ticket gates got too long and forcing the team to rope off the outfield warning tracks for standing room.
Valenzuela finished his career with a 173-153 record and 3.54 ERA including 141 wins as a Dodger (ninth on the franchise’s all-time list).
That was not enough to earn Valenzuela election to baseball’s Hall of Fame. His number 34 was never issued to another player after he left the Dodgers and the franchise finally gave in to constant calls and officially retired the number in 2023.
“Honestly? I would rather have the bases loaded with no outs,” Valenzuela said when asked how nervous he was before his jersey retirement ceremony. “I think it’s something really important for me and my family. It’s something I never imagined would happen. But here we are.”
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The all-time major league leader in wins (173) and strikeouts (2,074) by a Mexican-born player, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated and visited the White House during his playing career.
In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers as the Spanish-language radio color commentator for NL games. Twelve years later, he switched to the color commentator job on the team’s Spanish-language TV feed.
Valenzuela, who was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, became a U.S. citizen in 2015.
Valenzuela served on the coaching staff for Mexico during the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017. He was a part-owner of the Mexican League team Tigres de Quintana Roo, with son Fernando Jr. serving as team president and son Ricky serving as general manager. Fernando Jr. played in the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox organizations as a first baseman.
In addition to his sons, he is survived by his wife, Linda, who was a schoolteacher from Mexico whom he married in 1981, and four children, Fernando Jr., Ricardo, Linda and Maria Fernanda, and seven grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Fernando Valenzuela’s journey from the barren lands of northern Mexico to the heights of baseball royalty with the Dodgers made him a cultural icon, the toast of two countries and changed the demographics of the Dodger fan base forever. His sensational rookie season in 1981 started a run that made the charismatic left-hander one of the biggest stories in the sport for years to come. (Photos by The Associated Press)