This Tuesday, October 22, the unfortunate news of Fernando Valenzuela‘s passing shook the baseball world.

One of the most prominent and popular players in MLB history lost a battle to an undisclosed illness at the age of 63.

On July 6, 1979, the Los Angeles Dodgers bought out Fernando Valenzuela’s contract from the Mexican league for a mere $120,000. The Sonora, Mexico native threw five shutouts in his first eight games of the 1981 season and won all of those contests.

‘Fernandomania’ was born in what will forever be one of the best seasons ever for a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Valenzuela led the league in complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, and strike outs. The left-handed pitcher won the National League Rookie of the Year Award along with the NL Cy Young Award, a feat that had not and still has not been accomplished in the same year.

Even more impressive was the off-the-field, cultural impact that Fernando Valenzuela had in his rookie campaign and in the years to come. International superstars were not as common as they are in today’s game and Valenzuela really helped get more people interested in the sport.

The large Mexican and Mexican-American community was by his side at Chavez Ravine at every game, along with several Latino fans across the nation. Suddenly, people who had never seen a baseball game had heard of the kid from Sonora that led the Dodgers to a World Series win against the Yankees.

Mexico has always been interested in baseball, but it was mostly popular in the northern states, like Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja C, California. Valenzuela was able to get the entire country to not just care about Hugo Sanchez in Spain with Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid, but to also constantly check the baseball scores from Los Angeles.

“El Toro” had a generational run from 1981 to 1986, making the All-Star Game in each and every season. His production was very impressive along with his workload, finishing constantly among the league leaders in complete games. 1986 was a significant year for the lefty, winning a Gold Glove and also leading the National League in wins with 21.

There were a couple of moments in Valenzuela’s career where it almost seemed like destiny aligned itself for that specific date. One came on June 29, 1990, when the Mexican superstar tossed a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 6-0 victory for the Dodgers. Just a few minutes before the start of that game, Dave Stewart had thrown a no-hitter for the Oakland Athletics and it is said that Valenzuela had said out loud if there would be a second one on the day.

“If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!” Vin Scully exclaimed as Fernando was able to get the final out on that historic day.

The other moment came years later with the San Diego Padres when the first-ever MLB game in Mexico was played. The only man that could have thrown out the first pitch in that game and been the starting pitcher was Fernando Valenzuela. “Well, they couldn’t have picked a better man to do it, Valenzuela, the hero here in Mexico,” said Ralph Kiner on the broadcast that day.

The date was August 16, 1996, in Monterrey, and Valenzuela tossed quite a formidable game. The Sonora native went six innings and gave up just three runs in a massive 15-10 win for the Padres against the New York Mets.

Valenzuela played with the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals after leaving the Dodgers. His popularity never went away in that time, but he was particularly loved in San Diego with the Mexican border being so close to Jack Murphy Stadium.

Valenzuela’s time with the Padres was underrated for being in the later stage of his career. “El Toro” went 23-19 with a 4.22 ERA in three years with the “Friars” and enjoyed a 13-8 record with a 3.62 ERA in San Diego’s 1996 NL West winning season.

Valenzuela’s lasting impact extended far beyond his playing career being a Spanish-language commentator for the Dodgers alongside Jaime Jarrin and Pepe Yniguez. The former pitcher was also a coach on several Mexico World Baseball Classic teams and owned a stake in the Mexican league’s Tigres de Quintana Roo.

Valenzuela is the most prominent Mexican athlete to make such a deep impact in American sports and will always be remembered for his greatness on and off the field. The phrase ‘Fernandomania’ refers to a specific time in MLB history, but its impact far outlives those years when Fernando was the king of the diamond.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.