RIP Fernando Valenzuela

[Inky_Wretch]

Per the Dodgers.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Damn.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Didn't sound good when he took the leave of absence a few weeks ago. Damn indeed. What a joyful pitcher. RIP.

 

[MTM]

It’s so sad, especially coming right before the Dodgers are to play in the World Series.

Fernandomania in 1981 was such a special time in LA and changed the Dodger fan base forever as it sparked the Mexican population in the city.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Most recent picture of him looked awful. RIP

 

[swingline]

Fernandomania was a cultural phenomenon that even a Midwest kid felt.

 

[I Should Coco]

Fernandomania was a cultural phenomenon that even a Midwest kid felt.

Agreed. Those were the days when we 10-year-olds would try to imitate all the cool windups and deliveries, like Fernando and Dan Quisenberry.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Ah, man. Terribly sad news.

I was a teenager in Southern California when Fernandomania hit. He was a borderline mythic figure.

 

[HanSenSE]

The first time I saw him was in 1980 in that three-game season ending series the Dodgers had to sweep from the Astros to force a playoff with the Astros. His screwball was absolutely unhittable. It wasn't until the next season Fernandomania took off.

 

[MTM]

None of us Dodgers fans knew who Valenzuela was when he was called up that September but then we advocated for him to start the one-game playoff. Lasorda went with Dave Goltz, who got lit up.

 

[mpcincal]

Most recent picture of him looked awful. RIP

Yeah, I saw that photo with the post announcing he was leaving the broadcast job. He looked very skinny, and not in the "oh, cool, he lost some weight" sense, but "Oh, man, how sick is he?"

It's kind of hard to explain to someone who didn't experience it (I was a SoCal 13-year-old in '81) how utterly insane the attention was to him that year. Fernandomania was an accurate term. I still remember they were going to start him in the bullpen, but then on Opening Day, designated OD starter Jerry Reuss pulled a hammy (I think) during pre-game warmups, so they sent out Valenzuela, who pitched masterfully in the win, and it just went on from there.

At least his spirit will live on to anyone watching Nuke LaLoosh breathe through his eyelids in "Bull Durham."

 

[qtlaw]

Damn even THIS Giants fan looked longingly down under at the Fernandomania sweeping the baseball world.

I once watched footage from the catcher catching Fernando and the command that Fernando had was the best I ever saw. His control was ridiculous. He would only miss by inches if at all.

Man he was only a couple of years older than me. May he RIP.

 

[ChrisLong]

I was right in the middle of Fernando-mania. I talked to him a few times -- he could speak English a little bit but he preferred interviews to be in Spanish and he had Jaime Jarrin to interpret. He was pretty sharp despite his background.
In addition to being Rookie of the Year in 1981, Fernando also won the Cy Young Award. At his press conference for that, I asked him if he knew who Cy Young was. He said he did not know who he was, but if Major League Baseball named an important award after him, he must have been a really great pitcher.
I will never forget the All-Star Game in Cleveland when he got me with his favorite trick. He loved to come up behind you and tap you on your opposite shoulder, so you would turn the wrong way. The Cleveland visiting locker room was pretty cramped. There was a media scrum with a dozen or so guys surrounding Dusty Baker. I was in the back and was leaning in, trying to hear when I get a tap on my left shoulder. I turned, saw no one, then turned the other way and Fernando was there with a big grin.

I knew this World Series would trigger a ton of memories for me, but I wasn't counting on adding Fernando Valenzuela memories to the mix. RIP to the man we sometimes called the Mexican Screwball.

 

[Songbird]

My first favorite Dodger.

 

[Woody Long]

As a kid growing up in NJ in the 1980s, I knew who Fernando was, but he kind of existed in the ether. Since we didn't have cable in our house until Clinton's second term, I'd only see him if he'd pitch when the Mets and Phils faced the Dodgers on the east coast. By the time he made his later stops in Baltimore and Philadelphia, he wasn't the same pitcher, but he was still a legend. Wish I could have seen him the way you did, Chris. Guess I'll spend some time on MLB Film Room and YouTube today.

 

[jr/shotglass]

The visual of Fernando looking skyward at the top of his windup is an indelible memory.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Hearing Vin Scully’s voice pronounce his name on NBC’s Game of the Week is a sound from my childhood. Great pitcher. RIP

 

[playthrough]

Will look forward to seeing how the Dodgers honor him Friday night. And then watch whoever starts get pulled after four innings, sigh.

 

[Starman]

Starting tonight in the cornfield, Fernando and The Bird.

 

[MileHigh]

I was a 12-year-old in SoCal in 1981 and Fernandomania was just that -- mania. Absolutely took over the Southland and even us Angels fans could appreciate it.

RIP.