Fernando ‘El Toro’ Valenzuela, one of the great legends of baseball and Mexican sports, died at the age of 63, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced this Tuesday, the team in which he unleashed the phenomenon known as ‘Fernandomania‘.
“The Dodgers mourn the passing of legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela,” the Major League team said on its X social network account.
“Fernando Valenzuela was one of the most impactful players of his generation,” Las Mayores commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged in a statement about his death.
The death of Valenzuela, who had to step away from his commentating duties in October due to health problems, occurs before Friday’s start of the World Series that will face the Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
These two popular teams have not competed for the ‘Las Mayors’ crown since 1981, the year in which Valenzuela burst into the competition and was a fundamental piece for the Dodgers’ victory in the World Series.
The Sonora pitcher won his first eight games that season, leaving five of his rivals blank.
“Fernandomania” unleashed
His performances unleashed a sporting phenomenon known as “Fernandomania,” which attracted thousands of Mexican and American fans to Dodger Stadium and other Major League fields.
In that same 1981 he became the only player to win the Cy Young Award for best pitcher and Rookie of the Year in the same season, leading the National League in strikeouts, shutouts, complete games, innings pitched and exits.
The phenomenon culminated with the Dodgers’ victory in the World Series against the Yankees.
“We will honor Fernando’s memory during the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium,” Commissioner Manfred said.
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