Dodgers Legend Fernando Valenzuela Dies At 63

As the World Series is set to start Friday, the baseball world was hit with devastating news. Los Angeles Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela died Tuesday at 63.

The Dodgers had announced the news saying that he died at the hospital for undisclosed reasons.

Valenzuela was a All-Star pitcher, mostly with the Dodgers, where “Fernandomania” began in his rookie season.

Fernandomania

Valenzuela was born Navojoa, Mexico where he was able to grow his love for baseball.

In 1981 he was given an opportunity after veteran pitcher Jerry Reuss was injured right before opening day. Valenzuela had never started in the major leagues before, but Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda gave him a chance. He took this chance and never looked back. By the 1990s he was known as the “talk of baseball,” longtime Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said:

As time went on Valenzuela became even more popular. Fans all over the world admired his unique pitching motion and “Fernandomania” was running wild.

Valenzuela became the first player to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in 1981 after leading the National League with 192⅓ innings pitched and topped the majors with 180 strikeouts. And in 1986 he won the Gold Glove award for his fielding.

Later in 1990 there was a famous call by  Scully as Valenzuela completed a no-hitter and you can hear the crowd erupt:

Life After Baseball

Valenzuela got in the booth to start broadcasting for the Dodgers six years after retiring from the game in 1997. He was on the broadcasting team for more than 20 years, where he helped reach a new generation of fans.

The Dodgers had a tradition where they would only retire players jerseys if they made the Hall of Fame. They decided to break that tradition to retire Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey during a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium in August of 2023.