Fenando Valenzuela, the left-handed Dodgers pitcher who took Los Angeles by storm in the 1980s, has died at 63. The club announced the news on social media.
Valenzuela was called up from the minors at the very end of the Dodgers’ 1980 season and impressed right out of the gate.
Fernandomanía por siempre. Fernandomania forever. pic.twitter.com/zXhOF8cRCP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 23, 2024
In his official rookie year, when began when he was just 20, Valenzuela won the Cy Young Award, was named National League Rookie of the Year, becoming the first player to do so in the same season. He was also the MLB strikeouts leader.
In addition to his dominance on the mound, Valenzuela had an unusual and memorable pitching motion which included a glance skyward at the apex of each wind-up. Given that plus his youth, dominance and appeal to the Latino market, he was made for Los Angeles.
Crowds flocked to see him. During his warm-up routine at Dodger Stadium, the PA system would play ABBA’s 1976 hit song “Fernando.” What followed was known as “Fernandomania,” an electric love affair between the town and its favorite pitcher.
The Los Angeles Dodgers mourn the passing of legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. pic.twitter.com/MXeBlDzDWJ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 23, 2024
Late last year, the Dodgers retired Valenzuela‘s No. 34 jersey, the culminating event after the city council declaration of “Fernando Valenzuela Day.”
In a pregame moment, the then-62-year-old Valenzuela admitted, “It’s very emotional” to a crowded room of English and Spanish-language media hours before the ceremony. “I never expected it.”
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