Everything about Fernando Valenzuela totally explained
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (b.
November 1,
1960 Etchohuaquila, in the state of
Sonora) is a former
left-handed pitcher who pitched for six different teams during his
Major League Baseball career, most notably the
Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he pitched for eleven seasons, from
1980 to
1990. Thanks in part to his "
Ruthian physique,"
(External Link
)(External Link) and a devastating
screwball that helped him win his first eight straight decisions in, Valenzuela touched off an early
80s craze dubbed
"Fernandomania."(External Link) That year, Valenzuela became the only player in Major League history to win both the
Rookie of The Year award and the
Cy Young Award in the same season.
Early life
Valenzuela, the youngest of twelve children, was born in
Etchohuaquila, a small town within the municipality of
Navojoa, in the state of
Sonora, Mexico.
(External Link) His birth date is officially listed as
November 1,
1960, but during his phenomenal rookie season in 1981 some observers questioned his age, guessing him to be significantly older than twenty.
(External Link)
Playing career
In, 17-year-old Fernando Valenzuela began his professional baseball career with the Guanajuato Tuzos of the Mexican Central League, posting a 5-6 record with a 2.23 ERA. The following year, the Mexican Central League was absorbed into the expanded
Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (Mexican Baseball League), automatically elevating then 18-year-old Valenzuela to the
AAA level. Pitching for the Leones de Yucatán (Yucatan Lions) that year, Valenzuela went 10-12 with a 2.49 ERA and 141 strikeouts.
(External Link) A number of Major League teams scouted Valenzuela during this time, but it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who finally gambled on the young lefty, buying out his Liga contract on
July 6,, for $120,000.
(External Link)
Los Angeles Dodgers
After acquiring Fernando Valenzuela in the summer of 1979, the Dodgers assigned him to the Lodi Dodgers (now the
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) of the
High-A level California League, where he posted a 1-2 record and a 1.13 ERA in limited action.
(External Link) In Valenzuela was promoted to the
AA level San Antonio Missions. There Valenzuela led the
Texas League with 162 strikeouts, and ranked third in ERA.
(External Link)
Valenzuela was called up to the Los Angeles Dodger
bullpen in September of 1980. In the last month of the season, Valenzuela helped the Dodgers to a
Western Division tie with the
Houston Astros, tossing 17 2/3 shutout innings of relief over the course of ten games, during which he earned two wins and a save.
(External Link) The Los Angeles Dodgers then lost a
one-game playoff - and thus the division championship - to the Astros. His agent Antonio De Marco (husband of Rita De Marco (Caprino) of the Caprino Sisters) assisted him in entering the U.S.A., and his lucrative contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers etc.
Fernandomania
Valenzuela's efforts made him the odds-on favorite to be the league's top rookie in, and he didn't disappoint, starting the season 8-0 with four shutouts and an ERA of 0.50. Punctuating this dominance on the mound, Valenzuela had an extremely unusual but flamboyant wind-up (looking skyward just at the apex of every pitch), which drew attention of its own.
(External Link) He became an instant media icon, drawing huge crowds from the Los Angeles
Hispanic community every time he pitched and triggering high demand across the country for his rookie
baseball cards. The craze surrounding Valenzuela came to be known as "Fernandomania."
(External Link)
Valenzuela was less dominant after the
1981 player strike wiped out the middle third of the season, but the left-hander still finished with a 13-7 record, a 2.48 ERA, and a league-leading 180 strikeouts. That season Fernando Valenzuela became the only pitcher to win
Rookie of the Year and
Cy Young Award honors in the same year. In the post-season, Valenzuela pitched a complete Game 3 of the
1981 World Series against the
New York Yankees, helping the Dodgers to their first World Championship since .
In addition to his skills on the mound, Valenzuela also made a name for himself at the plate. During his rookie season, Valenzuela batted .250 and struck out just nine times in 64 at bats. That season, and again in 1983, Valenzuela was the recipient of the National League's
Silver Slugger Award for pitchers. In 1990, his last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fernando hit .304 in 69 at-bats, with one home run, five doubles, and eleven runs batted in. In 936 career at-bats - roughly two full seasons worth of at-bats for a full-time position player - Valenzuela had ten home runs and 84 runs batted in. On at least two occasions with the Dodgers, Valenzuela was called upon to play outfield and first base in marathon extra-inning games in which he didn't pitch.
(External Link)
El Toro
Following the outstanding debut, Valenzuela, nicknamed "El Toro" by fans, settled down into a number of years as a workhorse starter and one of the league's best pitchers. He had his best season in, when he finished 21-11 with a 3.14 ERA and led the league in wins, complete games and innings pitched. He lost a narrow vote for the Cy Young Award to the Astros'
Mike Scott.
At the 1986
All-Star Game, Valenzuela made history by striking out five consecutive American League batters, tying a record set by fellow left-handed screwballer
Carl Hubbell in the contest.
In, he began to slump, dropping off to 14-14 with a 3.98 ERA. By, when he won just five games and missed much of the season (ironically, in a year in which the Dodgers won the
World Series), it was obvious he'd a dead arm.
No longer blessed with his great screwball, he came back in and went 10-13, improving to 13-13 a year later. He had one last great moment on
June 29,, when he threw a 6-0
no-hitter against the
St. Louis Cardinals just hours after the
Oakland Athletics'
Dave Stewart had thrown one against the
Toronto Blue Jays.
Post Dodger Career
After pitching ineffectively in spring training in, Valenzuela was released by the Dodgers. An abortive attempt at a comeback with the
California Angels failed later that summer. He returned to the Mexican League, where he pitched and played some first base when he wasn't on the mound, before making another brief comeback in with the
Baltimore Orioles.
Jumping between the big leagues and Mexico for the next few seasons, he put together one more solid big-league season in for the
San Diego Padres, going 13-8 with a 3.62 ERA. He retired a year later with a final record of 173-153 and a 3.54 ERA.
The
Los Angeles Dodgers invited him to spring training in 1999, but he declined the offer.
In, he returned to the Dodger organization as the Spanish-language radio color commentator for National League West games, joining
Jaime Jarrin and
Pepe Yniguez in the Spanish-language booth.
On
June 29,, Valenzuela announced he'd return to the mound in the
Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (the Mexican Pacific Coast League) to play for Los
Aguilas de Mexicali in October at which time he was nearly 44 years old. He pitched again that Mexican winter league, during the 2005-06 season.
In 2005, he was named one of three starting pitchers on Major League Baseball's
Latino Legends Team.
Valenzuela also served in the coaching staff of Team Mexico. He served in that position during the World Baseball Classic held in the Spring of 2006, prior to the start of that year's season.
Pinch Hitting
Fernando Valenzuela was also known for being used as a successful pinch hitter, batting for an average of .368.
Family
His son, Fernando Jr., played in the
San Diego Padres organization as a
first baseman. In 2006, Fernando Jr. moved to the
Kannapolis Intimidators, a Class A League team in the
South Atlantic League affliated with the
Chicago White Sox and located in Kannapolis, NC, as a first baseman. In 2008 season, he played first base for the
Leones de Yucatan, of the
Mexican Baseball League (External Link).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Fernando Valenzuela'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://fernando_valenzuela.totallyexplained.com">Fernando Valenzuela Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
