Fernando Valenzuela
1960 - 2024
The Los Angeles Dodgers will face the Yankees in the first game of the World Series on Friday. Sadly, one of the icons of their franchise and a man who helped lead his team to victory the last time these two teams faced each other in the Fall Classic, will not be here to see it. It was announced that Fernando Valenzuela has passed away yesterday at 63 years old.
In 1981, Fernando had one of the greatest rookie seasons of any pitcher in the history of the sport. He was named the Dodgers opening day starter and rewarded the team's faith in him by going 8–0 with five shutouts and an ERA of 0.50 in his first eight starts. He finished the strike-shortened season with a record of 13–7 record and a 2.48 ERA, and he won both the Rookie Of The Year and Cy Young award. His success continued into the post-season as he helped lead the Dodgers over the Yankees in the 1981 World Series.
He went on to pitch 17 seasons in the big leagues, including a brief stop with the Philadelphia Phillies. Fernando was a late signing with the team on June 24th, 1994. He made his first start with the team four days later and started seven games for the Phillies. His final appearance for the team was on August 11th, 1994, which was also the last Phillies game before the start of the 1994 players strike. On that night, he pitched 8 innings in Veterans Stadium giving up just one run on four hits and a walk in the Phillies 2-1 victory over the New York Mets.
