Fernando Valenzuela

Baseball Player
Early Life
Fernando was born on November 1, 1960. He was born in Etchohuaquila, a small
town within the municipality of Navojoa, in the state of Sonora, Mexico. No one
knows his actual birthdate but they just approximated,
Early Career
In 1977 he began his baseball career when he signed as a professional player
with the Mayos De Navojoa, later he was transferred to the Mexican central
league. The Mexican Central League then was absorbed into the Liga Mexicana
De Beisbol. Then he started pitching for Los Leones de Yucatán.
Move to the Dodgers
A number of MLB teams scouted Valenzuela during this time. Los Angeles
Dodgers scout Mike Brito had gone to a game in Mexico to evaluate a shortstop
named Ali Uscanga. Valenzuela was pitching against Uscanga when he threw
three balls and then three strikes to retire the batter. Brito said that he
"forgot all about the shortstop". The Dodgers finally gambled on the young lefty,
buying out his Liga contract on July 6, 1979, for $120,000.
His career in the Dodgers.
Fernando was nicknamed “Fernandomania” and “El Toro” by fans. Valenzuela drew
large crowds from the Los Angeles Latino community every time he pitched
and triggering high demand across the country for his rookie baseball cards.
During his warmup routine at Dodger Stadium, the PA system would play ABBA's
1976 hit song Fernando. He became the first player to win the Rookie of the Year
Award and the Cy Young Award in the same season. He was also the first rookie
to lead the National League in strikeouts. The Dodgers won the World Series
that season.
His career post-Dodgers
After pitching ineffectively in spring training in 1991, Valenzuela was released
by the Dodgers. An abortive attempt at a comeback with the California Angels
failed later that summer.
Continued..
He signed with the Detroit Tigers in the spring of 1992, but he never played for
the team, and his contract was purchased by Jalisco of the Mexican League
that summer.
Continued...
He pitched and played some first base when he wasn't on the mound, before
making another brief comeback in 1993 with the Baltimore Orioles.
Personal Life
In 1981, Valenzuela married Linda Burgos, a schoolteacher from Mexico. Early in
his career, Valenzuela and his family spent offseasons between the Mexican
cities of Etchohuaquila and Mérida. The couple has four children. One of
Valenzuela's sons, Fernando, Jr., played in the San Diego Padres and Chicago
White Sox organizations as a first baseman. Since 2006, he has played minor
league baseball in Mexico or in independent leagues.
Pitching Average
Valenzuela was even used on occasion as a pinch-hitter, batting .368 (7-for-19)
in such situations. Twice while with the Dodgers, Valenzuela was called upon to
play outfield and first base in marathon extra-inning games in which he did not
pitch. He won the Silver Slugger award for pitchers in 1981 and 1983
Hitting Average
Valenzuela was considered an atypically good hitter for a pitcher. His best
year at the plate was 1990, his last year with the Dodgers, when he hit .304 with
five doubles, one home run, and 11 RBI in 69 at-bats. That gave him a 101 OPS+,
meaning Valenzuela ranked just above average among all National League
hitters that year. In 936 career at-bats — roughly two full seasons worth of at-
bats for a full-time position player — his career batting average was .200, with
10 homers, 26 doubles, and 84 RBI.
MLB statistics
Win-loss record: 173-153

Earned Run Average: 3.54

Strikeouts: 2,074
Communication Issues
Early in his major league career, Valenzuela had trouble communicating with
his catchers because he spoke very little English. Mike Scioscia, after being
called up as a rookie, made the effort to learn Spanish and eventually became
Valenzuela's "personal catcher" with the Dodgers before becoming the full-time
catcher.
Receiving his citizenship
Valenzuela became a U.S. Citizen on July 22, 2015 at a ceremony in Downtown Los
Angeles. Participated in two Tournament of Roses Parades, in 1983 aboard the
float from the Government of Mexico and in 2008 aboard the Los Angeles
Dodgers' float. In 1981, Valenzuela participated in the East Los Angeles
Christmas Parade as Grand Marshal.
After retirement
In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers organization as the Spanish-
language radio color commentator for National League West games, joining
Jaime Jarrín and Pepe Ýñiguez in the Spanish-language booth. In 2015 he was
switched to the color commentator job on the Spanish-language feed of
SportsNet LA. Valenzuela also served on the coaching staff of Team Mexico
during the 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2009 World Baseball Classic and 2013
World Baseball Classic.
Legacy
Valenzuela was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of
Fame on August 23, 2003, in a pregame on the field ceremony at Dodger
Stadium. In 2005, he was named one of three starting pitchers on MLB's Latino
Legends Team. In 2013, he was enshrined into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of
Fame.Dodgers clubhouse manager Mitch Poole has unofficially kept Valenzuela's
jersey number 34 out of circulation out of respect for him.On October 26, 2010,
ESPN broadcast a documentary commemorating Valenzuela's arrival with the
Dodgers titled Fernando Nation as part of their 30 for 30 documentary series.
Awards/Career highlights
● Pitched a no-hitter in 1990
● 6× All-Star (1981–1986)
● World Series champion (1981)
● NL Cy Young Award (1981)
● NL Rookie of the Year (1981)
● Gold Glove Award (1986)
● 2× Silver Slugger Award (1981, 1983)
● NL wins leader (1986)
● MLB strikeout leader (1981)
Fun Facts!
❖ He was a leftie.
❖ He was the first person to ever receive the cy young and rookie of the
year award in the same season.
❖ He had 11 siblings, and was the youngest of the 12.
❖ He suffered a severe arm injury in 1988, and he could never pitch the same
again..
Total number of teams he was in.
❖ Dodgers (1980-1990)
❖ California Angels (1991)
❖ Baltimore Orioles (1993)
❖ Philadelphia Phillies (1994)
❖ San Diego Padres (1995-1997)
❖ St. Louis Cardinals (1997)
Questions

1. What was his jersey number? 4. How many silver sluggers did 8. What year did he pitch a no-
he receive? hitter?

2. What was the team that he 5. What hand does he use to 9. How many strikeouts?
played longest for? pitch?

3. What teams did his son play 6. How many siblings does he 10. What was his earned run
in? have? average?

7. How many kids?

Answers

1. 34 4. 2 8. 1990

2. The Dodgers 5. Left 9. 2,074

3. The Padres and the 6. 11 10. 3.54

Red sox

7. 4
Works Cited
"Fernando Valenzuela." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Valenzuela>.

"Fernando Valenzuela." Famous Birthdays. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

<http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/fernando-valenzuela.html>.