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Great Athletes

Fernando Valenzuela

by John Wilson

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Fernando Anguamea Valenzuela was born on November 1, 1960, in the village of Etchohuaquila, Mexico, near the southern tip of the state of Sonora, not far inland from the Gulf of California. Nearby is the larger town of Navojoa, which some sources list as Fernando’s birthplace.

Los Angeles Dodger Fernando Valenzuela pitching in the 1986 all-star game.

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(AP/World Wide Photos)

Life in Etchohuaquila was not easy. The house where Fernando was born was made of adobe, with windows that were simply openings cut into the walls: no glass. Not until the 1970’s, did the village receive electricity, and when Fernando reached the major leagues in 1980, the houses in Etchohuaquila were still without running water.

Fernando was the youngest of the twelve children of Avelino and Maria Valenzuela. Like most of the families in the village, his farmed a small plot of land. Fernando, however, did not have to work as much as his brothers and sisters. He spent a lot of time playing baseball. Sometimes he even skipped school in order to play.

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The Road to Excellence

The first team Fernando played on was the Etchohuaquila town team, which also featured his six older brothers. Even as a boy, the left-handed Fernando was clearly an exceptional athlete—what baseball people call a “natural,” gifted in all phases of the game. His oldest brother Rafael, who had played professional baseball in Mexico, was the first to encourage Fernando to think of baseball as a career.

In 1976, at the age of fifteen, Fernando signed his first professional contract. By 1979, he had progressed to the big-league level in the Mexican League, pitching for the Yucatán Leones and winning rookie of the year honors. That same year, Mike Brito, a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, signed Fernando, who was sent to the Dodgers’ Class A team in Lodi, California.

After the 1979 season was over, the Dodgers asked Fernando to report to the Instructional League in Scottsdale, Arizona. There he learned the screwball, the pitch that completed his repertoire. The screwball has been described as a “reverse curveball.” When throwing a curve, a pitcher turns his wrist so the back of his hand faces outward. A screwball, in contrast, is thrown with an inward twist. The motion is difficult for most pitchers to master, but Fernando was soon throwing the “scroogie” with ease.

Fernando began the 1980 season with the Dodgers’ AA team in San Antonio, Texas. Late in the season he was called up to the big club. Although he pitched fewer than 18 innings for the Dodgers after his September 10 promotion, he was impressive, not allowing a single earned run.

The Emerging Champion

When the Dodgers began the 1981 season the franchise had high hopes for Fernando, but no one could have guessed what was ahead. Jerry Reuss, the scheduled Opening Day starter for the Dodgers, suffered an injury, and Fernando got the call. The twenty-year-old rookie shut out the Houston Astros, champions of the National League West in 1980, 1-0. In his second start, against the San Francisco Giants, Fernando pitched the Dodgers to a 7-1 victory. In his third start, he shut out the San Diego Padres, 2-0. The Astros fell again, 1-0, in his fourth start.

By this time, the unknown child from Mexico had become a sensation. Fernandomania swept across Los Angeles. Huge crowds came to see him wherever he pitched, in Los Angeles or on the road. A host of reporters followed him everywhere, documenting one of the most remarkable beginnings in the history of Major League Baseball.

By the end of his first full season, Fernando had led his team to the National League (NL) pennant and the World Series Championship, as the Dodgers defeated the Montreal Expos in the league playoffs and the New York Yankees in the World Series, avenging series losses to the Yankees in 1977 and 1978. Fernando was named rookie of the year, and he received the Cy Young Award—becoming the first player ever to win both of these coveted awards in the same year. He completed the year by getting married, on December 19, 1981; he and his wife Linda, a schoolteacher whom he had met while pitching for Yucatán, eventually had four children.

Continuing the Story

The only trouble with such a storybook beginning was that it is impossible to sustain. Many athletes, unable to cope with the letdowns that inevitably follow golden moments, have seen their careers disintegrate. Fernando, however, was uniquely equipped to deal with such pressures.

Teammates and opponents, broadcasters, journalists, and fans—all who watched Fernando in his rookie year—marveled at his maturity and poise. Whether faced with a bases-loaded jam or a media onslaught, he always remained calm. Some said this was because he was much older than he claimed to be. To put an end to such charges, the Dodgers produced a copy of his birth certificate.

Whatever its source, Fernando’s unflappable cool helped him throughout his career. When he came to the United States, he did not speak English at all. For several years he gave interviews only in Spanish; an interpreter translated his responses into English. Later he gave interviews in both languages. His success inspired many people, and particularly Hispanic youths.

In addition to barriers of language and culture, Fernando had to contend with physical problems. An athlete’s greatest fear is a prematurely disabling injury. In July, 1988, Fernando was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career as a result of severe damage to his left shoulder. At the time he was only twenty-seven years old. Since his Opening Day appearance in 1981, he had made 255 starts without missing a turn.

Rather than undergo surgery, Fernando chose the option of rest and a demanding rehabilitation program. While his teammates were winning the Dodgers’ first World Series since the year of Fernandomania, upsetting the Oakland Athletics, he had to watch from the sidelines. In 1989, he returned to the rotation. On June 29, 1990, against the St. Louis Cardinals, he pitched his first no-hitter. Despite that brilliant performance, Fernando’s overall record for the 1990 season was poor; the injury had taken its toll. In March, 1991, following several subpar outings in spring training, Fernando was released by the Dodgers.

In 1991, Fernando signed with the Angels but started only two games, both losing efforts. His injured left shoulder was not improving. In 1992, he joined the Mexican League’s Jalisco team. In 1993, Fernando was invited to spring training by the Baltimore Orioles. In his first 15 innings, he did not allow an earned run and eventually made the Orioles roster. A favorite with the Baltimore fans, much as he was in Los Angeles, Fernando shut out the defending world champion Blue Jays on September 30.

After a short 1994 season with Philadelphia, in 1995, Fernando signed with the San Diego Padres and pitched two solid seasons. Following a 2-8 start in 1997, however, he was waived by the Padres. He finished the season in St. Louis, where he went 0-4 in five starts and finished with an earned run average of 5.56.

In early 1999, having spent the previous year out of baseball, Fernando was offered a chance to compete for a spot in the Dodgers’ bullpen. The thirty-eight-year-old former Dodger star and local hero declined and returned to pitch in the Mexican League. In 2003, he became a commentator for the Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcasts. In 2005, he was named to the Latino Legends Team, the only Mexican player to be so honored.

Summary

For many fans, dismayed by the strike that shortened the 1981 season, Fernando Valenzuela’s wonderful, improbable rookie year was a saving grace, a reminder of what baseball is supposed to be. At first glance the portly Fernando did not look like a professional athlete, let alone a superstar, yet pitching for more than ten years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was one of the most popular players ever to perform for one of the sport’s most successful franchises. He brought his enthusiasm for the game to each team with which he played, generating support with hometown fans and inspiring respect from his teammates.

Additional Sources

1 

Llosa, Luis Fernando. “Mania Man.” Sports Illustrated 98, no. 26 (June 30, 2003): 50-53.

2 

Stout, Glenn. The Dodgers: One Hundred and Twenty Years of Dodgers Baseball. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.

3 

Wendel, Tim, Bob Costas, and Victor Baldizon. The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America’s Favorite Sport. New York: Rayo, 2004.

4 

Wielenga, Dave. “A Legend Returns.” Hispanic 18, nos. 1/2 (January/February, 2005): 52.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Wilson, John. "Fernando Valenzuela." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_1204.
APA 7th
Wilson, J. (2009). Fernando Valenzuela. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Wilson, John. "Fernando Valenzuela." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.