The Dodgers announced on Saturday that Valenzuela's No.. He threw 113 complete games, including 31 shutouts. I think it is not too much to say that for Mexican-American communities, Valenzuela was a hero like Hank Greenberg was for the Jews. 20), manager Walter Alston (No. Fernando Valenzuela's screwballand unique deliveryoften baffled hitters in 1981.  Fernando Valenzuela capped his 1981 season by winning the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards.  Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), In the strike-shortened 1981 season, rookie Fernando Valenzuela won 13 games and pitched eight shutouts. In 1981, Fernandomania was born. Fernando Valenzuela Stats, Fantasy & News. But even he acknowledged he was elected in part because of Valenzuela. (Lou Sauritch/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Within a few short weeks, Fernandomania was sweeping the nation. He placed in the top 5 in Cy Young voting 4 times in. They are ethnic heroes. If things had turned out differently, if I didnt do my job, we dont know if there would have been more opportunities, no? Valenzuela said. On the days Valenzuela pitched, the Dodgers played Mexican folk music over the public address system and prepared Mexican cuisine in the media dining room. For some, his middling 173-153 won-loss record makes him an unworthy Hall of Fame candidate. Nowadays, Valenzuelas at the age where he's finally allowing himself to take a look at the past through the rearview mirror, but the most celebrated Mexican in the history of Major League Baseball still does not like talking about himself or Fernandomania. Thats why for me, that game at the start of the season was really important for my career.. Note: With the Mexico Series taking place this weekend (April 29 and 30) between the Padres and Giants, we wanted to highlight some of the great Mexican players and stories from baseball's past. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? For me, it was about what you did for the game and how you impacted the sport. You can make a case that there are a handful of modern pioneers that have helped open the door for baseball in a lot of different ways and should be full members of the Hall of Fame.. In front of a crowd of 50,511, Valenzuela showed no signs of nerves as he twirled a five-hit shutout, striking out five with the help of his screwball, to help Los Angeles start the season with a 2-0 win over the Astros. The lone exception is Jim Gilliam (No. Long before we got here, they established a policy, which I agree with, and that is that we'll just use Hall of Fame people for retired numbers. Los Angeles was evolving when Fernandomania erupted in 1981. He won 141 games (8th in franchise history). You can try refreshing the page, and if you're still having problems, just try again later. What position did Fernando Valenzuela play? To lure the Dodgers across the country, the city of Los Angeles evicted local residents from the Chavez Ravine area, north of downtown, where the team planned to build a new stadium. It makes total sense to the Dodgers fans.. He still moves the needle. When you think of our particular history, which we are so proud of and talk about every day, you can't talk about it without mentioning Fernando's impact, Dodgers president Stan Kasten says. This story was originally published on April 16, 2021. Fernando had three great years and hung around-not enough. Longtime Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrn has often talked of how OMalley wanted to find a Mexican Sandy Koufax to attract Los Angeles growing Mexican and Mexican American populations. 53). In 1981, an 11-year-old Jaffe used to cut Valenzuelas box scores out of his local Salt Lake City newspaper and paste them into a scrapbook. Rick Circleliff (1979/1984) - NL 5. He could lasso anything.. Doug McKain 06/30/2021. Kelechi ndukwe asonye. 34 since he was released by the club in 1991, although the number is not officially retired. If you have any questions please feel free to email Athletic Director Jesse Irvin or call 240-740-6415 anytime. Ive always been asked what the situation is, with Cooperstown and all that, Valenzuela says. I will be comparing him to some other Hall of Famers; and as someone who is a big hall person, I feel I can make the case. In 10 games as a relief pitcher, he allowed zero earned runs. The rule that requires players to be retired for five seasons before appearing on the ballot was waived. Fernando Valenzuela went on to pitch 11 years for the Dodgers (1980-1990). The confidence that we had in him, along with what Tommy and the coaching staff had in him was very real and we just knew that, somehow, he was going to get it done.. Valenzuela also was unflappable, a rarity for a player so young. Don't miss any Dodgers News, Rumors, and Exclusive Offers! Fernandos legacy to me is that of Cuban Minnie Mioso, another trailblazer, Thorn says. The 2022 Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame Inductees: Tony DeRiggi '04. She made that.. Nowadays, Fernando is seen almost as a myth, because his playing career ended in the '90s before a lot of the current generation fans were even born, says Gustavo Arellano, a columnist covering Southern California for the Los Angeles Times. Years ago, Mexican-born Julio Uras was asked whether his father ever told him stories about Valenzuela. She just threw her arms in the air and embraced him, Lopez says. I always looked at the Hall of Fame differently than most voters. Years with Dodgers: 1980-1990. . The Dodgers Spanish-language voice since 1959, Jarrn is without question worthy of his place in the broadcasters wing of the Hall of Fame. I have always tried to see first what I have to do in certain situations and with certain things, and then act. "Fernando helped get the Dodgers back on track (with fans)," he says. Loaiza never again repeated his Chicago success before retiring after the 2008 season. Fernando, who was not very fast with his fastball, piled up the strikeouts because of the screwball, and it was a hard screwball. Valenzuela is not the first Mexican or Mexican-American big leaguer in baseball. Valenzuela is a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame, Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame and the California Sports Hall of Fame. Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2003_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_balloting&oldid=1146471837, Articles needing additional references from January 2021, All articles needing additional references, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hall of Fame member elected on this ballot (named in, Hall of Fame member elected subsequently to 2023 (named in. Instead Fernando went the whole way (he probably threw more than 140 pitches) and helped get the Dodgers on the path to winning the 1981 World Series. It seemed like there was nothing he couldnt do. I tried to do my best so they can have a good game, a nice day in the park.. He could do everything on a baseball field but run. I wore it like any other number. Later that summer, Valenzuela attended a state luncheon at the White House with President Ronald Reagan. The mission of the Seneca Valley School District Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize the outstanding athletic contributions of Seneca Valley Alumni in their respective athletic endeavors and to promote pride in the athletic heritage of the Seneca Valley community as a whole. This guy had some unbelievable talent, but for me, the key to Fernando was that he just wanted to be treated like the 24 other players and not get any special treatment. Follow him on Twitter @JesseSanchezMLB and Facebook. Italics mark those subsequently elected. In addition to calling games, Jarrn served as Valenzuelas interpreter at news conferences, which gained him exposure in other markets and, by extension, the electorate of the Hall of Fames Ford C. Frick Award. Fernando.. It was a historic run that almost didnt happen. Opening day of 1981 launched "Fernandomania," a phenomenon in Los Angeles and then the nation named after the Mexican-born pitcher. Meanwhile, six Hall of Fame members independently selected five nominated players, making 25 to 30 players. You could see how genuine and humble he was through it all and that also resonated with people.. In addition, Darryl Kile was exempted from the five-season rule and included on the ballot, due to his unexpected death during the 2002 season. He also appeared on the covers of The Sporting News, Sport Magazine, Baseball Digest and countless other publications. They were blown away. Lumbago wikipedia france. This page was last edited on 25 March 2023, at 02:41. Darryl Kile, who died during the 2002 season, is also on the ballot. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. First of all, Valenzuela was on the HoF ballot for the first time in 2003 and fell off in 2004. From 1987-97, his statistics would say no: 74-85 with a 4.23 ERA. Came from Mexico in the late 70's, and Fernando made him a baseball fan. A lot of people appreciate what I tried to do and that is something Ill always remember. The Dodgers won the next three games to claim their first championship since 1965, when Koufax was their best pitcher. If Selig hadnt supported the home run surge of the late 1990s by looking the other way when players started injecting themselves with steroids, who knows whether baseball would have ever recovered from its last work stoppage? How many . "Unheard of," Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jerrin told the Times. Frank Lpez (@BeisbolFrank) November 11, 2018. "I've never seen anything like it," broadcaster Jaime Jarrn told Sports Illustrated. From an on-field performance impact, his historic first 8 starts with 5 shutouts always comes up first. He was unbelievable with the lasso, says former Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia, Valenzuelas batterymate. Especially in L.A., this guy still inspires us. His best seasons were 1981, his rookie year, and 1986, when he led the National League with 21 wins and had a league-leading 20 complete games. I tell them, Look, for me, the affection and that the people recognize what I have accomplished is more important than being in a Hall of Fame. I said it from the beginning, and I believe it. In his book, Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between, Eric Nusbaum details how the club ended up with Dodger Stadium, specifically how three Mexican neighborhoods -- Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop -- were destroyed to make way for a housing project that was canceled amid the Red Scare hysteria and real estate speculation. If #34 impacted you or your family in regards to your fandom, please respond. Im open to the idea that baseball should be recognizing more of these cultural figures in the Hall of Fame, Jaffe says. Valenzuela also pitched 251 innings in 1987. There have been those who have thrown the screwball hard and those are the ones who have the arm troubles, Thorn says. Through the 1986 season, he was 99-68 with a 2.94 earned-run average, 84 complete games and 24 shutouts. I remember how his rivals laughed at his delivery and his weight. A total of 3272 individual votes were cast, an average of 6.60 per ballot. Still, he remains the only MLB player since baseball integrated in 1947 to win his first eight career starts. He had a 118 ERA+, a 2.88 FIP with a 33.5 WAR. Good pitcher and all that Fernando mania stuff but not HOF. The most powerful people in the government were in line waiting so that a young man from Mexico who didnt speak English could sign an autograph for them, Jarrn said. Fernando also threw a hanging screwball that probably hung in the strike zone too long, but still kept hitters off balance when it was mixed in with all of his other pitches. Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, 1974 Dodgers Cy Young winner Mike Marshall and Mets and Phillies icon Tug McGraw also threw screwballs. Those candidates receiving less than 5% of the vote (25 votes) will not appear on future BBWAA ballots, but may eventually be considered by the Veterans Committee. 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He could hit, he could bunt, field his position. From purely a fan perspective I cannot think of a player since Jackie Robinson that has had a generational draw like Valenzuela. What Fernandomania did for the Dodgers was build generation after generation of Mexican-American fans, says John Thorn, the official historian of MLB. He was stellar in the 1981 playoffs including his World Series game 3 start. Evidently the writers passed over one man selected by the Hall of Famers, for there were 26 players on the final ballot. He won the Rookie of the Year award and Cy Young award, given annually to the best pitcher in each league. Position: Starting Pitcher. The 13 candidates who received less than 5% of the vote, thus becoming ineligible for future BBWAA consideration, are indicated with an asterisk (*). The induction ceremonies were held on July 27 in Cooperstown, with Commissioner Bud Selig presiding. The pitch has always been about risk-reward with higher on the risk, but Fernando knew exactly what he was doing with it.. In front of 56,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome, Chuck Finley and Randy Johnson combined to no-hit a team of Japanese All-Stars in a 5-0 win. ?subscriber: (@TimRogers2080) August 7, 2016. Im not saying that they should not have been elected, but Im saying that if they are in,then Fernando should be in too. [40] . But how do we honor all the many great other players? He won his first eight starts with seven complete games and five shutouts, on his way to Fernandomania unified the city, giving it something to cheer for, together. Week Team League; 04/11/1981: Los Angeles Dodgers: NL: 09/05/1981: Los Angeles Dodgers [1], The process would cover players every two years and other contributors (managers, umpires and executives) every four years. He cant walk five feet at Dodger Stadium without fans of all ages stopping him. Fernandomania wasnt just about baseball. Valenzuela could receive the Buck ONeil Award, which the Hall of Fame presents once every three or more years to an individual whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseballs positive impact on society, broadened the games appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by ONeil.. He finished top-3 in Cy Young voting two more times before fizzling out in 1990. I remember this 19-year-old kid from Mexico with long hair and a little bit chubby taking baseball by storm, says Jarrn, 85, who is in his 63rd season as the Spanish-language voice of the Dodgers and is the longest-tenured active baseball radio broadcaster in the game. It worked for the left-handed-throwing Valenzuela, because the pitch broke toward left-handed hitters and away from righties when traditional breaking pitches do the opposite. Forty years later, he still has the memento. My dad couldn wait to watch Los Doyers and I could not wait to watch the game with him regardless of who was playing for the Dodgers all because of Fernando Valenzuela. If not for Fernando Valenzuela's incredible rookie performance and "Fernandomania" taking the sport by storm, Raines would've easily won the 1981 NL Rookie of the Year Award. (In the event, the system was reformed again after the third fruitless election for players and the second for other contributors in February 2007.). However, his presence did not right the wrongs that took place before he was even born. Among 85 eligible voters, 81 cast ballots so 61 votes were the minimum to elect a candidate. Valenzuela had never started a Major League game when he got the call on Opening Day 1981. He was the best and most of his losses in first 7 years were by one run or dodgers getting shut out and he didntt choke in post season plus de didntt need relief since most of time he was around 9 innings and was used as pinch hitter too.he could play good defense too.sorry but Kershaw not in his class .healthy Fernando would have won 4 world series the last 4 years that Kershaw failed. He was calm and quiet, but very confident and intelligent. This guy was godsend like orel, and Clayton. The server is misbehaving. His next 18 pitches were strikes, Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia told the Times. Among 85 eligible voters, 79 cast ballots so 60 votes were the minimum to elect a candidate. Young won 511 games between 1890 and 1911 and was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1937. Nonetheless, Jarrn said, logically, the talent would have emerged sooner or later.. Hey all, my next article for @DodgersNation will make the case for putting Fernando Valenzuela into the Baseball Hall of Fame. We strive for accuracy and fairness. That helps me get through all those innings. But, hey, the 50-year anniversary of Fernandomania is only a decade away. TV ratings spiked, too. The numbers, however, speak for themselves: He began the 1981 season with eight straight wins, seven complete games and five shutouts. His case is not an easy one to take on as his prime was pretty short, and his career numbers are not eye popping. Its been a lot of years since someone has worn No. Valenzuela should be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Fernando Valenzuela is the only player ever so far to win a Cy Young Award and a Rookie of the Year Award in the same season. The city was celebrating its 200th anniversary and the Latino population was exploding. Valenzuela was an All-Star in each of his first 6 seasons. Valenzuelas place in history is secure. The ballot consisted of 33 players; 496 ballots were cast, with 372 votes required for election. Twenty years old!! Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who was a stalwart of the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela, died Tuesday. His teammates were so captivated, says Littwin, who wrote many Valenzuela-related stories in 1981. Didnt . Valenzuela, the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game as a rookie, finished the strike-shortened 1981 season with a 13-7 won-loss record and a 2.48 ERA, one of the best in the big leagues. Valenzuela made the Dodgers the team of a community that once viewed the franchise with suspicion. Bobby Cox, Bud Selig,John Schuerholz, Bruce Sutter, Bill Mazeroski, and many others without the qualifications of Valenzuela are in the Hall of Fame. Not mine as much as my Dad's. Honorees have a permanent plaque on display at Dodger Stadium. Lalo and Mark Guerrero, father and son musicians, had a regional hit with their song, Fernando El ToroFernando The Bull. Jarrn said his favorite memory of the 1981 season was of the time he accompanied Valenzuela to a luncheon at the White House that was staged in honor of then-Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo. Before that, he was the Dodgers beat writer. They would vote by mail using "ballots and supporting material -- prepared by the Hall of Fame". At one point, the left-hander made 255 consecutive starts before going on the injured list for the first time in 1988 because of shoulder troubles that cost him two months and the opportunity to pitch in another World Series. Several artifacts from his illustrious career are housed in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, but he has not received the call for enshrinement. Its not a pitch that organizations really teach anymore, says Dodgers broadcaster Orel Hershiser, Valenzuelas teammate from 1983 through 1990. All fathers wanted their sons to be the next Fernando Valenzuela, and all of us kids would imitate his delivery, looking up to the sky, hands up in the air high and everything. 12 1 minute read. No ifs or butts about it!!! Dodgers pitcher Bobby Castillo taught Valenzuela the screwball in the winter of 1979 at the urging of legendary scout Mike Brito, who signed both of them. Your email address will not be published. On-field excellence aside, his impact off the field for many people of Mexican and Latino heritage made Fernando so important. Don't miss any of the Dodgers latest News, Rumors, and Exclusive Offers! ! Maybe the Dodgers will come to their senses by then. 19), the club's first-base coach who died before the start of the 1978 World Series. BREAKING: Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, a stalwart of the Dodgers' rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela, has died. Valenzuela wasnt the first to throw the screwball. Mexican-Americans Lalo and Mark Guerrero, a father-and-son songwriting team, got into the act with tribute songs, Fernando, El Toro and Ol! Lyle Spencer, who covered the Dodgers for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner from 1977-81, was paired with Valenzuela as an English tutor during Spring Training of 1981. In 1981, Fernando Valenzuela won Game 3 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. I believe that the manager Tom Lasorda overused him with the excuse of Fernandomania frenzy of those days and that he was only thinking of making the Dodgers richer with the millions of fans that he brought to the park every time he pitched. (The award was voted at the December 2002 meeting of the BBWAA, dated 2002, and conferred in the summer 2003 ceremonies.). No Dodgers player has worn Valenzuelas jersey No. Valenzuela actually threw three screwballs, and he threw each of them depending on the situation. 34 from their jersey rotation. That wasnt a Dodgers shirt. As Fernandomania was taking off, Mike Littwin, then a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, visitedthe pitcher's hometown. Each of the Dodgers retired numbers was worn by a player who played a majority of his career with the club and was later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He changed our lives.. Fernando Valenzuela: 31: 6.25: Keith Hernandez: 30 . Fernandos peak from late 1980-1986 was filled with high performance, and historic impact on the game. If theres someone [else] that can wear it, thats no problem. It is too bad that his arm injury ruined what was a sure-fire Hall of Fame career in 1986. In the clubhouse, Valenzuela showed his youth and flashed glimpses of his playful personality. But he fondly recalls how Valenzuela's special season impacted baseball in Los Angeles and Mexican Americans. Todays Fernando is a fun-loving grandfather with a dry sense of humor and perfect comedic timing. Fernando Valenzuela became a fan favorite in Los Angelesand beyond. I threw well -- nine innings, nine zeros. And those that played on great teams like Tony Lazzeri, but werent considered great on their own. Hes a third generation Dodgers fan whose love for the team can be traced back to his Brooklyn-born grandfather. But its entertainment for the fans. Yes, I totally agree that Fernando Valenzuela should be in the HALL OF FAME 100 percent. His family lived on a dirt road that was filled with potholes, he says. Arellano, who grew up in Southern California, was a toddler during the summer of Fernandomania. Watching the Dodgers is what helped my dad assimilate to American culture, while not losing his own. While he played for six MLB teams, his longest tenure was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. There were these growing pains in Southern California, which was a dominant white culture, because people were saying, 'OK, this is going to be a Mexican culture in the next couple of decades, so what are we going to do with it? Only three players led by Gil Hodges (61%) tallied more than fifty percent support. He was one of us, and we wanted to be like him.. ), On the composite ballot all fifteen finalists were active since 1976. No game was more memorable than Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees at Dodger Stadium. I've spent the past 20 years or so making strong arguments in favor of performance standards for the Hall of Fame and using advanced statistics to try to cut through some of the superficialities, and I think it's clear that when you when you look at Fernando Valenzuela, that he's one of numerous pitchers who fall into that What might have been territory, says Jay Jaffe, senior writer at FanGraphs and author of The Cooperstown Casebook: Who's in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Who Should Be In. He had a strong start to his career that was kind of done in by overwork and a leveling off performance-wise, and in that regard, it's hardly unique because we can talk about dozens of other Cy Young winners who never really got to that peak again.. ( marks those who were newly eligible since 2001. Dodgers fans, especially Mexican Americans, were eager to see the kid for a full season. In 1981 Fernando Valenzuela became the first pitcher in history to win the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Forty years ago, Fernando Valenzuela pitched himself out of rural Mexico and into the heart of one of the worlds most famous cities with a magical season in 1981 that started with a perfect 8-0 record and launched a movement.

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