The L.A. Dodgers have been around since 1883 and have had many influential players over the years, but none quite as influential as Fernando Valenzuela. Fernando sadly passed away on October 22nd of this year leaving baseball fans all across the country mourning his loss.
Fernando Valenzuela was born on November 1st of 1960 in a small town called Etchohuaquila in Mexico, and he was the youngest of his 11 siblings who were helpers to their parents farming business. Small beginnings for a big legend.
He played for a lot of different teams while he was in Mexico and Fernando really kick started his career in 1977 when he joined the Mayos de Navojoa. After playing with that team for a year, he signed with the Guanajuato Tuzos and after multiple years had played across different teams. It was at this point that major league baseball teams started looking at Valenzuela, and one particular team stood out from the others. That team was the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The owner of the L.A. Dodgers, Walter O’Malley, was aware of the larger Latino population of the area and felt that having Fernando as a pitcher on his team would bode well with the general public. On July Sixth of 1979, a contract for $120,000 was brought to Valenzuela (or about a half a million dollars in today’s economy) of which $20,000 dollars went to Valenzuela, and the other $100,000 went to the team. Other teams such as the New York Yankees had tried to get Valenzuela for $150,000, but he kept his original offer from the Dodgers and remained where he was. Later he was nicknamed “El Toro” meaning the bull.
Valenzuela really took off in the year 1981, starting the phenomena known as Fernandomania. This was the year that he transitioned to a full starter role, drawing large Latino crowds for every pitch he made as he was considered to be one of the best in the sport. He won the Silver Slugger twice and became so famous that he was once invited to the White House by Ronald Reagan for lunch. While he was one of the best players, he was also one of the highest paid MLB players making $5.5 million dollars in three years (around $15 million in 2024).
Valenzuela was released from the Dodgers in 1991 after his struggle in spring training and would later join some other major league teams like the Baltimore Orioles. While never returning to the Dodgers completely, he did become a Spanish language radio commentator in 2003 and also had some TV appearances for the same thing. He would step down in the last week of the 2024 regular season.
After his complete retirement, he would be hospitalized in October for liver cancer and would tragically pass away on the 22nd at age 63, leaving behind his legacy as one of the greatest players in baseball history.
