Dodgers to honor Valenzuela with uniform patch in WS, 2025 season

The Dodgers will honor legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela with a uniform patch beginning with the World Series and continuing on through the 2025 season. The patch features Valenzuela's first name and his No. 34, which the team retired in August 2023.

Valenzuela was an iconic figure for the Dodgers as well as the larger sports world, inspiring the global "Fernandomania" phenomenon in his rookie season in 1981 at the dawn of a remarkable life in baseball. He passed away on Tuesday at age 63.

"I know what he meant to so many people in this community, especially to the Dodger fan base," said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. "You saw it when we retired his number, all the people that came out. I never saw my stepmom be so excited to see someone in person than she was to see Fernando because that was her era and what he meant.

"He always traveled with us because he did the Spanish broadcast, and it’s amazing how nice of a man he was. He tried to not come around us much because he knew he would bring so much attention, but he was so lovely to be around. That patch will mean a lot and hopefully we can do something special."

Valenzuela pitched parts of 11 seasons with the Dodgers, made six straight All-Star appearances and posted a 141-116 record and 3.31 ERA with L.A., earning a spot as one of the most popular players in franchise history.

Thanks to his rookie performance for the 1981 World Series championship team, Valenzuela became the first pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Awards in the same season. Valenzuela went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA that season while also tossing an NL-leading 11 complete games and an MLB-high eight shutouts. He also led baseball with 180 strikeouts and topped the NL with 192 1/3 innings.

Valenzuela capped his stellar rookie campaign with a complete game in Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees, which helped propel the Dodgers to the title in six games.

Valenzuela's best season with the Dodgers by winning percentage came in 1986, when he went 21-11 and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting.

"He kind of paved the way for me," said Dodgers pitcher Brent Honeywell, who is one of the few players in the Majors who throws a screwball. "Whenever I was throwing a screwball growing up, I could tell all my buddies … Fernando Valenzuela threw a pitch that I throw now.

"It's kind of a funny way to tie it in, because Fernando is well more than a screwballer. But I knew him as the pitcher. I didn't necessarily get to know him as the person, but I heard he was a great guy. If you're a screwballer, you're a screwballer. I still throw it. I'll turn one loose for him."