Fastball

Fernando Valenzuela Made Amazing Baseball History Back in 1981

The left-hander passed away on Tuesday at the age of 63.

Brady Farkas

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela looks on during a pre-game ceremony for former player Dusty Baker as he is inducted into the Dodgers Hall of Legends at Dodger Stadium in 2024.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela looks on during a pre-game ceremony for former player Dusty Baker as he is inducted into the Dodgers Hall of Legends at Dodger Stadium in 2024. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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On Tuesday night, former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres left-hander Fernando Valenzuela died at the age of 63. A hugely important figure in Dodgers history, he spent 11 years with Los Angeles. He then spent three years with the Padres at the back end of his career.

In addition, he also had small stints with the California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles.

Valenzuela made his debut at the age of 19 back in 1980 and then took the league by storm in 1981. "Fernando Mania" became must-watch television and became a true sensenation, long before the virality of social media.

That 1981 season was also historic for Valenzuela, as he won both the Rookie of the Year and the National League Cy Young.

Per @OptaSTATS on social media:

Fernando Valenzuela as a 20-year-old rookie in 1981:

35.0-inning scoreless streak
All-Star Game starting pitcher
Cy Young
Rookie of the Year
World Series title

No other pitcher in MLB history has accomplished all of those feats over his entire career (same season or not).

All in all, Valenzuela was a six-time All-Star and a Gold Glover who had four top-finishes in the Cy Young voting. He had 10 separate seasons of double-digit wins, including a league-best 21 back in 1986.

The Dodgers made multiple posts about Valenzuela's passing on social media, including this one below. With Game 1 of the World Series set for Friday night in LA, it would stand to reason that the organization will do something to honor Valenzuela, but nothing has been announced or confirmed at this time.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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