Generalized mourning for ‘El Toro’

Ramón Hernández, fine second baseman for the Red Devils of Mexico in the 60s and 70s, arrived punctually yesterday at his office on Jesús Carranza Street, in the Morelos neighborhood, when a person who works in the same building told him that Fernando was had gone I thought you were talking about the CEO, because he has the same namedice a The Day the legendary Abaloneformer partner of The Bull in the Mayos of Navojoa between 1979 and 1980. “And where did he go? I asked him. ‘Well, he’s already gone. Fernando Valenzuela passed away. Ah, bastard! “I couldn’t say anything anymore.”

The death of the legendary Los Angeles Dodgers player, at the age of 63, has generated that kind of void in the baseball environment of Mexico and the United States. “Everyone wanted to go see who that was. pitcher so young that he captivated the world. It will be very difficult for us to see another phenomenon like him again,” says the former Los Angeles baseball player. Tribbles with the image still of a robust, dark and hairy Valenzuela, who leaned his body backwards, raised his right leg and looked at the sky before the ball left his hand making strange turns in the air.

The expressions of mourning and admiration for The Bull They have been replicated on the official channels of the Major Leagues. During its most dominant decade in the 80s, Dodger games that were broadcast in Mexico paralyzed millions of people in the country, a phenomenon similar to that of two other great icons in sports such as former soccer player Hugo Sánchez, figure in Real Madrid, and the boxer Julio César Chávez. Now Fernando has shaken us allrecognizes Pentapichichi, member of the Soccer Hall of Fame. He was a sporting symbol, a legend.

Valenzuela – winner of the Cy Young Award, the World Series and Rookie of the Year in 1981 – played in Mexican baseball for Mayos de Navojoa, Tuzos de Guanajuato, Leones de Yucatán, Naranjeros de Hermosillo, Charros de Jalisco, Venados de Mazatlán and Águilas de Mexicali.

In yesterday’s games in the Mexican Pacific League there were minutes of applause for him and his emblematic number 34, retired in the Dodgers, was honored to understand the magnitude of what he represents.

Only he can repeat what he did in this sportexpresses Abalone Hernández, not only because of the sporting feats that remain intact, such as beating the New York Yankees in the third game of the 1981 World Series, but because he broke into a universe that seemed impossible for other Mexicans. “Few remember that he had a very good curve. When he learned screwball in the United States with (Roberto) Theirs Castillo, he forgot about her. He used it on very rare occasions. He could throw at two different speeds and with a count of 3 (balls) and 2 (strikes), but it was a pound chickpea, one of those that no longer exists.”

The death of The Bull It occurs while the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series this Friday against the Yankees, precisely the team they defeated in 1981, when the Fernandomania It swept baseball as a cultural and sporting phenomenon. We will win it for youwrote the manager of the ninth Angelina, Dave Roberts, in a publication in memory of the legendary Sonoran pitcher. In 2020 we lost Kobe Bryant. Then, Anthony Davis led the Lakers to a championship. On Tuesday we lost Valenzuela. All Dodger players will lead us to the title. You can leave it in the registry.

Outside Dodger Stadium, dozens of people came yesterday to leave wreaths, candles and signs with the number 34 to say goodbye to the Bull of Echo Huaquila. Later, on the screens of the property, the Los Angeles franchise projected an image with the legend “Fernandomania forever” in Spanish and English. Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred announced that World Series teams and the league We will honor the memory of Fernando with a tribute on Friday at the start of the series.

The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, said in a statement that watching Valenzuela pitch from the mound was like watching a teacher work. He left an indelible mark on our nation.said the document, also signed by her husband Douglas Emhoff.

Etchohuaquila, the cradle

In Etchohuaquila, a small ejido in southern Sonora, Fernando Valenzuela’s legacy is not only carved in the memories of his town, but also in the home he built for his mother. They taught me respect for what you want. The first thing I wanted to do when I started playing was to build them a househe once expressed with the humility that always characterized him.

The Bull Since I was a child, I had not dreamed of international baseball stages. It was at the age of 12 when he decided that this sport would be his path. And he took those first steps in the dusty fields of his native Etchohuaquila, playing with his older brothers. It was that experience that, according to him, gave him the foundation to stand out when he began pitching professionally in the Mexican Summer League at 16.

In the small local diamond they still talk about the first screwball from Valenzuela. Laura Elena Anguamea, who shared primary school years with him at the Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla school, remembers him as a serious and reserved young man, but passionate about sports. He played with the other schools and always stood out.

Just like her, Delfina Valenzuela, wife of his first coach, fondly keeps the memories of those days when Fernando was beginning to stand out, without imagining how far he would go. They lived in a small adobe house, very humble. Later, he came to build the biggest house in town for his mother..

On Tuesday night, the Fernando Valenzuela stadium, home of the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, was the scene of an emotional minute of applause during the duel against Mayos de Navojoa, the team where he played his first years as a professional. The tribute marked a moment of deep emotion for players and fans.