Valenzuela, Mexican pitching phenom of Fernandomania fame, dies at 63

Fernando Valenzuela, the cultural hero and baseball legend whose journey from a dusty pitcher’s mound in rural Mexico to center stage at Dodger Stadium launched a movement for baseball fans around the globe, died on Tuesday. He was 63.

Decades after “Fernandomania” drew generations of families to Chavez Ravine in 1981, Valenzuela remained a symbol of hope and of the American dream. His rise in the early 1980s came as Latinos and Mexican-Americans struggled to find a sense of belonging amid continuing debates over the site of Dodger Stadium and immigration reform.

• How Fernando drew thousands of extra fans

Up until recently, he called games on the Dodgers’ Spanish radio broadcasts, sharing his quick but dry humor with his loyal fanbase. Outside of baseball, he spent time with his family and loved ones -- and he was regularly seen golfing at municipal courses.

“Fernando Valenzuela was one of the most impactful players of his generation,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “With his distinctive pitching style, the Dodgers left-hander’s rookie season generated so much excitement in the U.S. and his native Mexico that it became commonly referred to as ‘Fernandomania.’ His 1981 season ranks among the most decorated pitching years of all-time as Fernando was the National League Rookie of the Year, the NL Cy Young Award winner, a Silver Slugger and a World Series champion.

“Following his memorable career, Fernando was an outstanding ambassador for baseball. He consistently supported the growth of the game through the World Baseball Classic and at MLB events across his home country. As a member of the Dodger broadcasting team for more than 20 years, Fernando helped to reach a new generation of fans and cultivate their love of the game. Fernando will always remain a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired.

“We will honor Fernando’s memory during the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Fernando’s family, the Dodgers, his friends across the game, and all the loyal baseball fans of Mexico."

“On behalf of the Dodger organization, we profoundly mourn the passing of Fernando,” said Stan Kasten, president & CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes. He galvanized the fan base with the Fernandomania season of 1981 and has remained close to our hearts ever since, not only as a player but also as a broadcaster. He has left us all too soon. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Linda and his family.”

During a series of interviews with MLB.com in 2021 ahead of the 40th anniversary of “Fernandomania,” Valenzuela spoke of the legacy he wanted to leave.

“It would be really great if they remembered me as someone who always tried his best to always give them a good show, so that they could have fun with this beautiful game,” he said in Spanish.

Valenzuela didn’t seek the spotlight. He was largely anonymous until the season after his 1980 debut.

It all changed in 1981, when he captivated Los Angeles -- and fans around the world -- by winning each of his first eight starts of the season for the Dodgers. The stretch included seven complete games and five shutouts. He struck out 68 and allowed four earned runs in 72 innings for a 0.50 ERA during the magical run. The performance gave birth to Fernandomania, a phenomenon that still resonates with baseball fans. Even now, they wear his No. 34 jersey, share stories of watching him pitch and tuned into Spanish broadcasts for his analysis.

Valenzuela’s windup -- the leg kick and the way he looked to the heavens before throwing each pitch -- remains one of the most distinct and celebrated deliveries in the history of the sport. But he was more than just an athlete. Valenzuela broke barriers and also built bridges as a Mexican-born star for the Dodgers.

“What Fernandomania did for the Dodgers was build generation after generation of Mexican-American fans,” John Thorn, MLB’s official historian told MLB.com in 2021. “The Mexican-American community has always been large in Los Angeles, but it was not attached to the Dodgers when they were imported from Brooklyn. I think it is not too much to say that for Mexican-American communities, Valenzuela was a hero like Hank Greenberg was for the Jews. He made everybody feel bigger and welcome. They went to the stadium to see him.”

How big was Fernandomania?

During the peak of the phenomenon, Valenzuela held news conferences before every home start and in clubhouses on the first day in every city the team visited. The atmosphere at Dodger Stadium when Valenzuela pitched was electric, with fans sporting T-shirts with “Valenzuela” stitched, printed or written across the back. Large homemade “Viva Fernando” signs were a mainstay in the bleachers.

The Los Angeles Herald Examiner had a nickname contest, with “El Toro” emerging as the winner. He was on the cover of the May 18, 1981, edition of Sports Illustrated, with a simple, one-word headline: "UNREAL!" He also appeared on the covers of The Sporting News, Sport Magazine, Baseball Digest and many other publications. Mexican-Americans Lalo and Mark Guerrero, a father-and-son songwriting team, got into the act with tribute songs “Fernando, El Toro” and “?Olé! Fernando.”

Valenzuela attended a state luncheon at the White House with President Ronald Reagan. Kellogg's Corn Flakes put him on a box of cereal.

“I remember this 19-year-old kid from Mexico with long hair and a little bit chubby taking baseball by storm,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, who spent more than six decades as the Spanish-language voice of the Dodgers, told MLB.com in 2021. “He was calm and quiet, but very confident and intelligent. He was also very playful when he got comfortable.”

On the field, Valenzuela started the 1981 All-Star Game for the National League and played a key role in the Dodgers’ run to a World Series championship. He capped that remarkable year by becoming the first player in MLB history to be named Rookie of the Year and win a Cy Young Award in the same season.

“He could do everything on a baseball field but run,” former teammate Dusty Baker told MLB.com in 2021. “He could hit, he could bunt, field his position. He knew how to play the game. He was a breath of fresh air as a youngster with a man’s knowledge on how to play the game.”

For his career, Valenzuela finished with a record of 173-153, 41.5 career WAR, a 3.54 ERA, 2,930 innings pitched, 2,074 strikeouts and a 1.32 WHIP. He threw 113 complete games, including 31 shutouts.

The left-hander made 255 consecutive starts before going on the injured list for the first time in 1988 because of shoulder troubles that cost him two months -- plus the opportunity to pitch in another World Series.

During his six-year peak from 1981-86, he sported a 2.97 ERA in 1,537 innings with 84 complete games and 26 shutouts. He had a 118 ERA+, a 2.88 FIP and 33.5 WAR. Valenzuela also pitched 251 innings in 1987.

Valenzuela concluded his Dodgers tenure in 1990 -- throwing a no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 29 of that year -- before spending 1991-97 with the Angels, Orioles, Phillies, Padres and Cardinals.

Valenzuela was reunited with the Dodgers in 2003 as part of the club’s Spanish-language radio team, working alongside Jarrín, who retired after the 2022 season.

Born on Nov. 1, 1960, in Navojoa, Mexico, Valenzuela found success in the Mexican League as a teenager and was heavily scouted by Major League teams. On July 6, 1979, at age 18, Valenzuela signed with the Dodgers for $120,000. He made his MLB debut on Sept. 15, 1980 -- with a dangerous new weapon in his arsenal, a screwball.

In the winter of 1979, Dodgers pitcher Bobby Castillo taught Valenzuela his famous pitch at the urging of legendary scout Mike Brito, who signed both players.

“The pitch has always been about risk-reward with higher on the risk, but Fernando knew exactly what he was doing with it,” said Dodgers broadcaster Orel Hershiser, Valenzuela’s teammate from 1983-90.

According to Baseball Reference, Valenzuela’s 41.5 WAR leads all Mexican-born players. Valenzuela is a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame, Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame and the California Sports Hall of Fame. He earned Mexico’s Premio Nacional del Deporte, the country’s highest sports honor. Several artifacts from his illustrious career are housed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Valenzuela received 6.2% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his first year on the ballot in 2003 and fell off the writers’ ballot after receiving less than 5% of the vote in '04.

But Valenzuela’s legacy remains intact. He is survived by his wife Linda and four children, Fernando Jr., Ricardo, Linda and Maria Fernanda, and seven grandchildren.

On Aug. 11, 2023, Valenzuela's No. 34 was retired in a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium. The Mexican Baseball League -- Liga Mexicana de Beisbol -- retired Valenzuela’s No. 34 in 2019. Five years earlier, a statue of Valenzuela was erected at the entrance of Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“I’m someone who is very reserved,” Valenzuela said in 2021. “I always think twice about what I want to do or say, and I think it’s the only way to achieve certain things in life. I have always tried to see first what I have to do in certain situations and with certain things, and then act. That helped me a lot in my career.”