Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died. He was 63.
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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. “63 is way 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 one of the main reasons I’m a Dodgers fan is because of Fernando. ... Not only a great player, but a great man to the community. What a legend.”
Valenzuela was 13-7 and had a 2.48 ERA in his first season, which was shortened by a players’ strike. Nicknamed “El Toro” by the fans, Valenzuela had an unorthodox and memorable pitching motion that included looking skyward at the apex of each windup. His repertoire included a screwball — making him one of the few pitchers of his era who threw that pitch regularly. It was taught to him by teammate Bobby Castillo after the Dodgers felt Valenzuela, who wasn’t known as a hard thrower, needed another pitch.
Valenzuela’s rise from his tiny hometown of Etchohuaquila in the Mexican state of Sonora to stardom in the U.S. was improbable. He was the youngest child in a large family who tagged along when his older brothers played baseball.
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