Pitching great Fernando Valenzuela died at the too young age of 63:
Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten issued a statement expressing the team’s grief over the loss of Valenzuela.
“He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes,” Kasten’s statement read. “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.”
NBCLosAngeles.com
My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
His rookie year of 1981 ended with him winning both the Rookie of the Year award and the Cy Young award. In a season shortened by a strike, he managed to pitch 192 1/3 innings in 25 starts, recording eight shutouts and a 2.48 ERA. He also led the Dodgers to a World Series victory, posting a 2.21 ERA in five starts (the first division series was that year, as teams played a split season.)
He know for an unusual delivery in which he looked to the sky during his wind up. This was forever memorialized in Bull Durham when Nuke is told to breathe through his eyelids.
Valenzuela did peak early. His best season came in back to back years, 1985 and 1986. He posted a 5.5 rWAR in each of those seasons, holding batters to a .220/.286/.308 slash line. He had one more good year in 1987, and produced 5.3 rWAR for the rest of his career.
My favorite Valenzuela story came on June 29, 1990. My daughter was born the day before, and late on Friday I came home, turned on ESPN, and found that the first game of their broadcast doubleheader featured a no-hitter by Dave Stewart of the Athletics. The second game was from Dodger Stadium, with Valenzuela on the mound for Los Angeles. After seeing Stewart’s gem, Fernando told his teammates he would throw a no-hitter as well, and went out and did so. I had gone to bed and missed that one, too. Normally, I would have been at the ESPN studio helping with stats for the cut ins, as that turned out to be one of the great nights in baseball history.
Goodbye to a legend!