Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born star of the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” when he won the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died. He was 63.
The team said he died Tuesday evening at a Los Angeles hospital, but did not provide a cause or other details.
His death comes as the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series at home against the New York Yankees on Friday night. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Valenzuela would be honored during the series at Dodger Stadium.
Valenzuela had left his job as a color commentator on the Dodgers’ Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. He was reportedly admitted to hospital earlier this month. His job kept him a regular at Dodger Stadium, where he performed in the press box dining room before games and remained popular with fans who sought him out for photos and autographs.
“God bless Fernando Valenzuela!” actor and Dodgers fan Danny Trejo posted on X.
Valenzuela was one of the most dominant players of his era and a wildly popular figure in the 1980s, although he was never elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever and belongs on the Mount Rushmore among franchise heroes,” said Stan Kasten, team president and CEO, in a statement. “He strengthened the fan base with the 1981 Fernandomania season and has remained close to our hearts ever since, not only as a player but also as a presenter. He left us all far too soon.”
Valenzuela’s rise from humble beginnings as the youngest of twelve children in Mexico and his exploits on the mound made him enormously popular and influential in the Los Angeles Latino community, while helping attract new fans to the MLB. Their fondness for him continued years after his retirement.
“63 is way too young…. A piece of my youth is gone,” actor and Access Hollywood co-host Mario Lopez posted on ben comes through Fernando. … Not just a great player, but a great man for the community. What a legend.”
Eva Torres, originally from Mexico City, drove from Anaheim to look at murals of Valenzuela on Sunset Boulevard near Dodgers Stadium.
“I wasn’t a fan of baseball, but I am a fan of his,” she said. “He’s just like me, an immigrant who came here to do great things.”
In 1981, Valenzuela became the Dodgers’ opening day starter as a rookie after Jerry Reuss was injured 24 hours before his scheduled start. He shut out the Houston Astros and started the season 8–0 with five shutouts and a 0.50 ERA. He became the first player to win a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season. His performances caused the delirium known as “Fernandomania” among Dodgers fans. The Abba hit Fernando would play as he warmed up on the mound.
He made the All-Star roster every year from 1981 to 1986, when he recorded 97 wins, 84 complete games, 1,258 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA. He was 5-1 with a 2.00 ERA in eight postseason starts. He earned two Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove.
Valenzuela, dubbed “El Toro” by fans, had an unorthodox and memorable pitching move, looking skyward at the top of each windup. His repertoire included a screw ball, making him one of the few pitchers of his era to throw it regularly.
Early in his Dodgers career, Valenzuela spoke little English and had difficulty communicating with his catchers. Rookie Mike Scioscia learned Spanish and became Valenzuela’s personal catcher before becoming the team’s full-time catcher. Valenzuela was also a better-than-average hitter for a pitcher, with 10 career home runs.
Ultimately, his pitching was compromised by nagging shoulder problems that kept him out of the 1988 postseason, when the Dodgers won the World Series. The team released Valenzuela just before the 1991 season. He also pitched for the former California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and St Louis Cardinals.
He retired in 1997 and went 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA in 17 seasons, the all-time Major League leader in wins and strikeouts (2,074) by a Mexican-born player. In 11 seasons with the Dodgers, he was 141-116 with a 3.31 ERA. He also threw a no-hitter in June 1990, a 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. He struck out seven and walked three.
Valenzuela’s rise from his small hometown of Etchohuaquila in the Mexican state of Sonora to stardom in the US was unlikely. He was the youngest child in a large family who tagged along when his older brothers played baseball. He signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 and quickly began to overwhelm older players in the Mexican Central League.
In 1978, legendary Dodgers scout Mike Brito was in Mexico checking out a shortstop when Valenzuela entered the game as a reliever. He immediately caught Brito’s attention and at age 18, Valenzuela signed with the Dodgers in 1979. That same year he was sent to the California League. In 1980, Valenzuela was called up to the Dodgers in September and quickly made his big league debut as a reliever.
In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers as a Spanish-language radio color commentator for NL games. Twelve years later, he moved on to the job as a color commentator on the team’s Spanish-language TV feed.
“He consistently supported the growth of the game at the World Baseball Classic and at MLB events in his home country,” Manfred said in a statement. “As a member of the Dodger broadcast team for more than two decades, Fernando has helped reach a new generation of fans and cultivate their love for 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.”
In addition to his sons, he is survived by his wife Linda, whom he married in 1981, and daughters Linda and Maria, as well as seven grandchildren.