LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Fernandomania” has broken out again at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers were set to retire Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey on Friday night before hosting the Colorado Rockies.
“It’s very emotional,” Valenzuela told a crowded room of English and Spanish-language media hours before the ceremony. “I never expected it.”
Earlier in the day, the 62-year-old was in downtown Los Angeles, where the city council declared it “Fernando Valenzuela Day.”
The activities were part of a weekend-long celebration of one of the most enduring and popular players in Dodgers history. A postgame drone show honoring Valenzuela was set for after the game.
On Saturday, the team is giving away his bobblehead, and on Sunday, the giveaway is a replica of Valenzuela’s 1981 World Series ring.
Valenzuela became a sensation that year. Besides winning the World Series, he won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award, the first player to do so in the same year.
He was named the Opening Day starter that year by manager Tommy Lasorda after Jerry Reuss got hurt a day earlier. He responded with a 2-0 victory over Houston, beginning the season with an 8-0 record, including five shutouts, and an 0.50 ERA.
“Tommy Lasorda came up to me and said, ‘Are you ready to pitch tomorrow?’ I said, ‘I’m ready,'” Valenzuela recalled. “That’s what I was looking for, the opportunity to show what I can do.”
Valenzuela’s pitching motion — glancing skyward at the apex of each windup — was a hit, too. His signature pitch was the screwball, taught to him by teammate Bobby Castillo in 1979.
During his warmups, ABBA’s hit “Fernando” blared from the speakers.
The native of Mexico was credited for drawing large numbers of Latino fans to Dodger Stadium and they nicknamed him “El Toro” — the Bull.
Valenzuela’s number was to be unveiled on the left field club level, where he will join previous honorees Pee Wee Reese, Lasorda, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, Don Sutton, Walter Alston, Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Don Drysdale and Hall of Fame broadcasters Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrín.
Jarrín “helped me a lot early in my career talking to you guys,” Valenzuela said, referring to the translation the broadcaster did for English-speaking media.
Besides Lasorda and Jarrín, Valenzuela also credited Mike Brito, the scout who in Mexico found the left-handed pitcher. Brito died last year at 87.
Valenzuela also won the 1988 World Series with the Dodgers, as well as Silver Slugger awards in 1981 and ’83. He pitched for the team from 1980-90. He retired in 1997.
Valenzuela has stayed close to the franchise. He is the color commentator on the Spanish-language broadcasts for its SportsNet LA cable channel.
He remains among the franchise leaders in wins (141), strikeouts (1,759), innings pitched (2,348 2/3), starts (320), complete games (107) and shutouts (29).
Valenzuela became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2015.
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