MLB Pitcher Who Won Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year, Dies at 63

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican Los Angeles Dodgers phenom who inspired “Fernandomania” by winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died. He was 63 years old.

The team said he died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital, but did not provide the cause or other details.

His death comes as the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Valenzuela would be honored during the series at Dodger Stadium.

Valenzuela left his job as a color commentator on the Dodgers’ Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. He was reportedly hospitalized earlier this month. His work kept him a regular at Dodger Stadium, where he served 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 an extremely popular figure in the 1980s, although he was never elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, it is part of Cooperstown, which features several artifacts, including a ball autographed by his 1990 no-hitter.

“He is one of the most influential Dodgers of all time and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes,” Stan Kasten, the team’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “He galvanized the fans with the 1981 Fernandomania season and has remained in our hearts ever since, not just as a player but also as a broadcaster. He left us too soon.”

Valenzuela’s rise from humble beginnings as the youngest of 12 children in Mexico and his exploits on the mound made him extremely popular and influential in the Los Angeles Latino community, while also helping to attract new fans to Major League Baseball. Their affection for him continued for years after his retirement.

“63 is too young… A piece of my childhood is gone,” actor and “Access Hollywood” co-host Mario Lopez posted on X. “Growing up as a Mexican kid is one of the main reasons I’m a Fan of the Dodgers is because of 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 see Valenzuela’s murals on Sunset Boulevard near Dodgers Stadium.

“I wasn’t a baseball fan, but I’m a baseball fan,” she said. “He’s 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 defeated the Houston Astros 2-0 and began the season with an 8-0 record, with five losses and a 0.50 ERA. He became the first player to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

His performances created the delirium known as “Fernandomania” among Dodgers fans. ABBA’s hit “Fernando” played as he warmed up on the mound.

“Fernando Valenzuela was a true icon of the Dodgers and the game,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., posted on X. “His legacy and connection to the Latino community in Los Angeles is one of the reasons I fell in love with the Dodgers.

Valenzuela was 13-7 and had a 2.48 ERA in his first season, which was shortened by a players’ strike.

He was an All-Star selection every year from 1981-86, 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 has won two Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove.

Valenzuela’s no-hitter on June 29, 1990, a 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, was a thrilling career highlight. He struck out seven and walked three.

“If you have a sombrero, throw it into the sky!” Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully exclaimed on his play call.

Nicknamed “El Toro” by fans, Valenzuela had an unorthodox and memorable throwing motion that included looking to the sky at the apex of each shot. His repertoire included a screwball – making him one of the few pitchers of his era who threw this pitch regularly. It was taught to him by teammate Bobby Castillo after the Dodgers felt that Valenzuela, who was not known as a hard pitcher, needed another pitch.

Early in his career with the Dodgers, Valenzuela spoke little English and had trouble 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 a better than average hitter, with 10 career home runs.

Eventually, his pitching was compromised by persistent 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, going 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 had a 141-116 record with a 3.31 ERA.

Valenzuela’s rise from her small hometown of Etchohuaquila in the Mexican state of Sonora to US stardom was unlikely. He was the youngest son in a large family who watched his older brothers play baseball.

He signed his first professional contract at age 16 and soon began dominating older players in the Mexican Central League.

In 1978, legendary Dodgers scout Mike Brito was in Mexico to watch a shortstop when Valenzuela entered the game as a substitute. He immediately caught Brito’s attention, and at age 18, Valenzuela signed with the Dodgers in 1979. He was sent to the California League that same year.

In 1980, Valenzuela was called up to the Dodgers in September and soon made his major league debut as a reliever.

He remains the only pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. The left-hander was the National League’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game in 1981, the same year the Dodgers won the World Series.

During his career, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and visited the White House.

In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers as a Spanish-language radio commentator for NL games. Twelve years later, he moved to the role of color commentator on the team’s Spanish-language TV feed.

“He has consistently supported the growth of the game through 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 20 years, Fernando has helped reach a new generation of fans and cultivate their love for the game. Fernando will always be a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired.”

He was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Five years later, the Mexican League retired Valenzuela’s number 34 jersey. The Dodgers followed in 2023 after keeping his number out of circulation since he last pitched for the team in 1991. The team has a rule that requires a player to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame before the Dodgers retire his number, but they made an exception for Valenzuela.

The Dodgers named Valenzuela as part of the “Legends of Dodger Baseball” in 2019 and inducted him into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2023.

He became a US citizen in 2015.

Valenzuela served on Mexico’s coaching staff during the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017. He was co-owner of the Mexican League team Tigres de Quintana Roo, with his son Fernando Jr. serving as general manager. Fernando Jr. played for the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox organizations as a first baseman.

In addition to his children, he leaves behind his wife, Linda, who was a Mexican teacher whom he married in 1981, and his daughters Linda and Maria, as well as seven grandchildren.