Former Dodger screwballer Fernando Valenzuela has died. He was 63. Twin remembrances are here and here.
In 1981, after starting the season 8-0 with 5 shutouts, 7 complete games, and an ERA of 0.5, he won NL rookie of the year, a Cy Young Award for best NL pitcher, and a World Series title over the NY Yankees. He also spawned a cultural craze that became known as “Fernandomania.”
Born in rural Mexico, he was beloved by fans who adored his accent, his free spirit, and a screwball which baffled hitters all around MLB, breaking as it did in the opposite direction from the usual curveball. After his playing career ended he became a Dodger broadcaster, a position he stepped away from last year due to health concerns.
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When Valenzuela started his windup, he lifted his arms over his head and, as he lowered them to meet his high-kicking right leg, he looked up to the sky. His eyes seemed to roll back in his head, as if in some sort of rapture.
Vin Scully, the Dodgers’ announcer who, over 67 seasons, watched Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Newcombe pitch, told The Los Angeles Times in 1991 that there was something different about games pitched by Valenzuela a decade earlier.
“Fernandomania bordered on a religious experience,” he said. “Fernando being Mexican, coming from nowhere, it was as though Mexicans grabbed onto him with both hands to ride to the moon.”
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When the Dodgers-Yankees World Series reconvenes this year on Friday night, I say a moment of silence in his honor is in order. Vin Scully will surely be looking on, remembering the Mexican-born screwballer with a smile. As will I.