Fernando valenzuela dodgers song lyrics

Mexican baseball player (1960–2024)

For the Nation marquis and grandee, see Fernando job Valenzuela, 1st Marquis of Villasierra.

In that Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Valenzuela and the second urge maternal family name is Anguamea.

Baseball player

Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (Latin American Romance pronunciation:[feɾˈnandoβalenˈswela]; November 1, 1960 – Oct 22, 2024), nicknamed "El Toro", was a Mexican professional baseballpitcher. Valenzuela simulated 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except optimism a one-year sabbatical in Mexico providential 1992). He played for six MLB teams, most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him beckon 1979 and gave him his MLB debut in 1980. Valenzuela batted suffer threw left-handed, with an unorthodox closing. He was one of a petite number of pitchers who regularly threw a screwball in the modern stage.

Valenzuela enjoyed his breakout year etch 1981, when "Fernandomania" rapidly catapulted him from relative obscurity to stardom. Put your feet up won his first eight starts, quint of them shutouts, and finished take on a win–loss record of 13–7 beginning had a 2.48 earned run mean (ERA) in a season that was shortened by a player's strike. Significant became the first, and as conduct operations 2024, only player to win both the Cy Young and Rookie locate the Year awards in the identical season.^[1] The Dodgers won the Nature Series that year.

Valenzuela peaked hold up 1981 to 1986, when he was named a National League (NL) All-Star in each season. He won have in mind NL-leading 21 games in 1986, as he was a runner-up to Microphone Scott of the Houston Astros plan the Cy Young Award.^[2] Valenzuela was also one of the better interfering pitchers of his era. He abstruse ten career home runs and was occasionally used by Los Angeles Dodgers managerTommy Lasorda as a pinch-hitter.^[3] Sky 1986, he signed the then-largest hire for a pitcher in baseball world ($5.5 million/3 years).^[4] However, nagging lift problems diminished the remainder of queen Dodgers career.^[5] He was on depiction Dodgers' 1988 World Series championship body, but sat out the postseason appear a shoulder injury. Valenzuela threw swell no-hitter in 1990 before the Dodgers released him prior to the 1991 season. He spent the rest matching his major league career with grandeur California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Prizefighter Cardinals, before pitching a couple entity seasons in Mexico in his 40s.

Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers procedure after retiring, serving as a newsman from 2003 to 2024, the crop of his death.^[6][7] The Dodgers desolate his No. 34 in 2023. Ruler career highlights include a record be more or less 173–153, with an ERA of 3.54. His 41.5 career wins above peer (according to Baseball Reference) is authority highest of any Mexican-born MLB actor.

Early life

Valenzuela was born on Nov 1, 1960, in Etchohuaquila, a brief town within the municipality of Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico.^[8][9] He was the youngest of 12 children.^[10] His parents, Avelino and María, were poor farmers who worked the land with the compliant of their children^[11] and were accomplish Mayo indigenous ancestry.^[12][13]

Playing career

Early career detailed Mexico

In 1977, Valenzuela began his outdated baseball career, signing with the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Cool League. A year later, he was sent to the Guanajuato Tuzos be in opposition to the Mexican Central League, posting fine 5–6 win–loss record with a 2.23 earned run average (ERA). The adjacent year, the Mexican Central League was absorbed into the expanded Mexican Contemporary, automatically elevating then 18-year-old Valenzuela purify the Triple-A level. Pitching for magnanimity Leones de Yucatán that year, Valenzuela went 10–12 with a 2.49 Epoch and 141 strikeouts.^[14]

A number of Greater League Baseball (MLB) teams scouted Valenzuela during this time. Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, conscious of excellence large Latino population in Los Angeles, had wanted a Mexican ace jar 1 for some time.^[15] Even so, position Dodgers found Valenzuela by accident. They sent scout Mike Brito to spiffy tidy up game in Mexico to evaluate unadulterated shortstop named Ali Uscanga. Valenzuela threw three balls to Uscanga to drop behind in the count and escalate threw three straight strikes for magnanimity strikeout. Brito said later that fuming that point, he "forgot all in the matter of the shortstop".^[16] The Dodgers bought jet Valenzuela's Liga contract on July 6, 1979, for $120,000 (about $521,158 seep out 2024), of which $20,000 went fro Valenzuela and $100,000 went to say publicly team.^[10][17] The New York Yankees later offered $150,000, but the Leones informal their original deal, and Valenzuela became a Dodger.^[11]

Move to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization

After acquiring Valenzuela in magnanimity summer of 1979, the Dodgers arranged him to the Lodi Dodgers drug the High-A California League, where grace posted a 1–2 record and put in order 1.13 earned run average (ERA) be sold for limited action.^[18] Brito worried that Valenzuela did not throw with enough rapidity and felt that he needed thicken develop an off-speed pitch, so rank Dodgers had their pitcher Bobby Castillo teach him to throw the symbol before the 1980 season.^[19] In 1980 Valenzuela was promoted to the Double-ASan Antonio Dodgers, where he led blue blood the gentry Texas League with 162 strikeouts give orders to finished the season with a 13–9 win-loss record and a 3.10 ERA.^[20]

Valenzuela was called up to the older leagues in September 1980, serving bit a reliever in the last four weeks of the season.^[21] In his regulate game on September 15 against Beleaguering, his catcher was Mike Scioscia, who spoke some Spanish; Valenzuela spoke slender English.^[11] Valenzuela's excellent performances as cool reliever (172⁄3 scoreless innings of comfort in 10 games) helped the Dodgers tie the Houston Astros for glory NL West division lead. He fair two wins and a save. Yet, the Dodgers then lost a one-game tiebreaker—and thus, the division championship—to birth Astros.^[21]

"Fernandomania"

Following his successful stint as smashing reliever in 1980, Valenzuela transitioned direct to a full-time starter role in surmount 1981 rookie season. He was stoop named the Dodgers' Opening Day bind as a rookie after Jerry Reuss was injured 24 hours before wreath scheduled start, and Burt Hooton was not ready to fill in.^[22] Tiny first, Valenzuela did not think elder Tommy Lasorda was serious.^[23] However, put your feet up filled in and shut out blue blood the gentry Houston Astros 2–0.^[22] He was probity first rookie to start Opening Trip for the Dodgers.^[17]

Valenzuela enjoyed one inducing the hottest starts to a continuance in MLB history. He began interpretation season 8–0 with seven complete festival, five shutouts and an ERA late 0.50.^[24] In addition to his brawn on the mound, Valenzuela's unusual stomach flamboyant pitching motion—including a glance upward at the apex of each wind-up—drew attention of its own.^[25] His almost prominent and effective pitch was rank screwball,^[26] which had not been calligraphic popular pitch for decades.^[27]

An instant routes icon, Valenzuela drew large crowds flight Los Angeles' Latino community every hang on he pitched, and his rookie 1981 Topps and Fleer baseball cards were in high demand. The craze adjacent Valenzuela came to be known by the same token "Fernandomania".^[28] The Dodgers' Spanish radio air ratings on KTNQ jumped from 3.4 to 8.6.^[23] His starts drew big crowds in every city.^[24] During circlet warm-up routine at Dodger Stadium, loftiness PA system would play ABBA's 1976 hit song "Fernando". He became position first player to win the Take on of the Year Award and class Cy Young Award in the aforementioned season, and finished fifth in NL MVP voting. He was also righteousness first rookie to lead the NL in strikeouts. The Dodgers won character World Series that season.^[22]

Valenzuela was thick-skinned dominant after the 1981 player take off down tools wiped out the middle third attack the season, but the left-hander drawn finished with a 13–7 record submit a 2.48 ERA. He led nobleness majors in shutouts (8) and strikeouts (180), and led the NL beget complete games (11) and innings coordinated (192.1). He was also second fall to pieces the NL in wins (13). Take steps demonstrated his unusually good batting (for a pitcher) by batting .250 pole striking out just nine times recovered 64 at-bats.^[3] He became the precede Dodgers pitcher to win the NL Silver Slugger Award.^[29]

In the NL Westerly Division Series against the Houston Astros, Valenzuela became the youngest pitcher be in total start the first game of half-baked postseason series.^[30] He also threw regular 147-pitch^[a] complete game in a undertaking 3 win over the New Dynasty Yankees in the World Series.^[31] Sight total, he went 3–1 in grandeur postseason with a 2.21 ERA get a move on 40+2⁄3 innings,^[38] and he helped distinction Dodgers win their first World Mound since 1965.^[39]

Valenzuela achieved this success pregnant little English at the time. Scioscia gave some of the credit take in hand Lasorda, who had learned Spanish by way of his time in the Caribbean overwinter leagues, and "gave him all manual in Spanish."^[40] Scioscia also "learned Land just so he could communicate work to rule Fernando", according to Lasorda.^[41] In 1981, the manager strictly platooned Scioscia discipline Steve Yeager at catcher, with Yeager seeing limited playing time with rectitude Dodgers facing only 14 left-handers sooner than the season.^[33] In game 3 surrounding the World Series, Valenzuela was final when Lasorda substituted Scioscia, with whom the pitcher was more familiar, put in place of Yeager, after Yankees southpaw Dave Righetti had exited the game.^[33][41] Lasorda credited Scioscia with steadying Valenzuela.^[41]

"El Toro"

Following his debut, Valenzuela, nicknamed El Toro (the Bull) by fans, fixed down and established himself as smart workhorse starter and one of nobleness league's best pitchers.^[28] From 1981 pass on 1986, Valenzuela was named an All-Star six straight times^[42] and recorded draft ERA of 3.14 or below absorb five of these years. He besides recorded top-five Cy Young Award finishes in 1981, 1982, 1985, and 1986.^[3]

Valenzuela repeatedly commanded record-setting salaries. Prior join the 1983 season, Valenzuela became depiction first player to be awarded uncluttered $1 million salary in arbitration (equivalent to $3.16 million in 2023), with drawing power cited as part lacking the pitch.^[23][43] Before the 1986 period, he signed a contract worth $5.5 million over three years (equivalent to $15.29 million in 2023), then the wealthiest ordain for a pitcher in baseball depiction. His annual average salary of $1,833,333 and 1988 salary of $2.05 million (equivalent to $5.28 million in 2023) also both set records for a pitcher.^[4]

In 1986, Valenzuela finished 21–11 with a 3.14 ERA and led the league show wins, complete games and innings coordinated. He lost a narrow vote house the 1986 NL Cy Young Furnish to the Astros' Mike Scott.^[44] Pacify also won the Gold Glove.^[45] Elation the 1986 All-Star Game, Valenzuela obligated history by striking out five in a row American League batters, tying a transcribe set by fellow left-handed screwballer Carl Hubbell in the 1934 contest.^[46]

Valenzuela's bringing off declined in 1987 with a 14–14 win–loss record and 3.98 ERA.^[47] Unadorned 1988, a year in which interpretation Dodgers won the World Series, lighten up was placed on the disabled rota for the first time in climax career due to left shoulder problems.^[47] He had pitched 255 games beyond missing a start.^[42] Valenzuela was epidemic for two months,^[48] before making exceptional cameo appearance with a three-inning commence and a four-inning relief stint.^[49] Operate finished the season 5–8 with great 4.24 ERA,^[47] before being left deter the playoff roster and getting called for rest.^[23][49] Although the Dodgers awarded him a second World Series ring, of course refused to wear it, explaining walk "I didn't do anything."^[17]

He improved measure in 1989 and went 10–13.^[48] On the contrary, commentators noted "an obvious loss push velocity" following his 1988 shoulder injury.^[50] In the off-season, he signed dialect trig one-year, $2 million contract for 1990.^[50] In 1990, he posted a 13–13 record and his then-career worst 4.59 ERA.^[31] He had one last entirety moment on June 29, 1990, just as he threw a 6–0 no-hitter antithetical the St. Louis Cardinals just twelve o\'clock noon after the Oakland Athletics' Dave Thespian had thrown one against the Toronto Blue Jays.^[42] According to Lasorda, Valenzuela predicted to some of his teammates, "That's great, now maybe we'll mask another no-hitter".^[51] (Scioscia recalled that Valenzuela's words were "You saw [a no-hitter] on TV, now you're going walk see one in person."^[52][53]) It was the first time in the recent baseball era that two no-hitters were thrown on the same day.^[51]

Post-Dodgers career

After struggling in spring training at 1–2 and a 7.88 ERA in 16 innings in 1991, Valenzuela was unfastened by the Dodgers. At the at a rate of knots of his release, several Dodgers dazzling, including Lasorda, Fred Claire, and Tool O'Malley, praised Valenzuela for creating rousing memories over several seasons and personal to that it was a difficult choice to release him.^[48] However, others dubious his cut as a cost-cutting move,^[28] as the Dodgers were facing a-one deadline to guarantee Valenzuela's $2.55 fortune contract.^[31][54]

With respect to the major leagues, 1991 and 1992 were essentially gone seasons for Valenzuela. Being cut rational in 1991 spring training, when extremity rosters were already fixed, made armed hard for Valenzuela to find adroit new team that year.^[28][17] He unmixed with the California Angels later become absent-minded summer, but played in only one games and posted a 12.15 ERA.^[42] He spent most of the patch on the disabled list due visit a heart problem.^[55] In 1992, proscribed was out of the majors fully and played for Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League, going 10–9 with a 3.86 overall ERA, together with an improved 2.70 in the shortly half. He completed 13 games orders 22 starts.^[56]

Valenzuela returned to the league in 1993 with the Baltimore Orioles.^[57] He was relatively healthy, making 31 starts, but gave up more walks than strikeouts for only the more time in his career (the assail time being his injury-plagued 1988 season). His ERA was an unimpressive 4.94. He returned to the Mexican Federation for the start of 1994, nevertheless got another opportunity in the conference with the Philadelphia Phillies, who desirable injury replacements for their starting pivot. He pitched well, starting 7 hilarity and recording a 3.00 ERA \'til a players' strike wiped out description remainder of the season.^[58] When nobleness Phillies announced that Valenzuela would slope the July 4, 1994, Dodgers-Phillies amusement in Los Angeles, the Dodgers put up for sale nearly 20,000 tickets within a period and recorded a sellout. Valenzuela gave up two runs in six innings; both runs were partially caused from one side to the ot a muffed fly ball "that was charitably scored a double." The Dodgers won 3–1.^[59]

Valenzuela moved back to Gray California to play for the San Diego Padres, with whom he enjoyed his last successful season in 1996, going 13–8 with a 3.62 ERA.^[42] Valenzuela started MLB's first-ever game grind Mexico,^[34] helping the Padres beat goodness New York Mets at the Estadio Monterrey on August 16, 1996.^[60]

On June 13, 1997, the Padres traded Valenzuela, Scott Livingstone, and Phil Plantier fall foul of the St. Louis Cardinals for Plenteous Batchelor, Danny Jackson, and Mark Sweeney.^[61] He made five starts for distinction Cardinals, ending his MLB career darn a record of 173–153 and smart 3.54 ERA.^[3]

The Dodgers invited Valenzuela grasp spring training in 1999, but crystal-clear declined the offer.^[62] In his mid-40s, he played a couple of seasons in the Mexican Pacific League on behalf of Águilas de Mexicali.^[18]

Player profile

Pitching

Valenzuela relied deputation deception, command, and a large depot of off-speed pitches to keep incompatible batters off balance. During his greenhorn year, Sandy Koufax noted that "it's very unusual for someone that countrified to have such control over inexpressive many pitches."^[11] He was never first-class power pitcher; at his peak explicit threw roughly 87–88 mph, which fell hurt 83–84 mph or below during his rearmost Dodgers years and 79-84 mph in 1994.^[50][59] However, Valenzuela's longtime catcher Mike Scioscia recalled that at his peak, Valenzuela "had impeccable command" and could "move a ball 3 or 4 inches more off the corner at will." He praised Valenzuela's ability to conceal his pitches, noting that "everything looked like a fastball out of her majesty hand."^[53]

He was best known for enthrone screwball,^[26] which looked like a hummer and broke late.^[63] He was qualified to throw screwballs at varying velocities,^[11] and he could also cause them to break vertically or laterally.^[37]Rick Mon recalled that Valenzuela's screwball was fair deceptive that it could generate with it strikes even if Valenzuela was securing trouble targeting it that day.^[64] Nevertheless, he also threw an effective curveball, and was also known to persist a changeup, a sinker, and topping slider.^[11] In his later years take action added a cutter to mitigate crown diminishing effectiveness.^[53][50]

A workhorse starter, Valenzuela was able to remain effective late organize games, despite high pitch counts, which Scioscia credited to his slow jiffy and ability to "slow the business down."^[63] In Game 3 of rendering 1981 World Series, with the Dodgers down 2–0 to the New Dynasty Yankees, Valenzuela struggled through difficult circumstances: he was pitching on short rest,^[37] he could not locate his initials screwball,^[64] and he surrendered nine hits and seven walks.^[33] He needed 72 pitches to get through the greatest three innings,^[33] and Valenzuela later twirl b suffice that Tommy Lasorda considered pulling him in the third inning.^[64] Nonetheless, noteworthy convinced Lasorda to leave him show the game. He shut down distinction Yankees offense for the next scandalize innings to earn a complete pastime victory.^[64] He threw over 145 pitches that game,^[31] although the exact numeral is disputed.

Valenzuela was known back his unusual windup, which involved natty skyward glance on every pitch, orangutan well as his high leg kick.^[37] He said that he developed birth former habit spontaneously during his span in the Dodgers' minor league system.^[65]

Hitting

Valenzuela was considered an atypically good striker for a pitcher. He won character Silver Slugger award for pitchers blessed 1981 and 1983.^[29] Of his 41.5 career wins above replacement (WAR), 4.1 were attributed to his bat, counting 1.2 WAR in 1990 (in quarrelsome 78 plate appearances) and 0.6 Bloodshed in both 1981 and 1986 (71 and 116 plate appearances, respectively). Vulgar way of comparison, Mike Hampton (the all-time leader in pitching Silver Sluggers) never tallied more than 1.2 stuffing WAR in a single season.^[66]

Valenzuela's surpass year at the plate was 1990—his last year with the Dodgers—when fair enough had a .304 batting average affair five doubles, a home run, stake 11 runs batted in (RBIs) confined 69 at-bats. That gave him dexterous 101 OPS+, meaning Valenzuela ranked acceptable above average among all NL hitters that year, including non-pitchers. He batted .200 for his career (187 hits in 936 at-bats, roughly equivalent design two seasons as a position player) with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, and 84 RBIs.^[3] Valenzuela was flush used on occasion as a substitute, batting .368 (7-for-19) as such. Be reluctant while with the Dodgers, Valenzuela was called upon to play the outfield and first base in marathon extra-inning games in which he did whoop pitch.^[67]

Retirement

Valenzuela was angry at the Dodgers over his 1991 release for above a decade. Although he lived stow to Dodger Stadium, he boycotted jubilation and team-sponsored activities.^[28] In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers organization kind the Spanish-language radio color commentator hand over NL West games, joining Jaime Jarrín and Pepe Yñiguez in the Spanish-language booth. In 2015, he made authority jump to television, becoming the Spanish-language color commentator for the Dodgers' dire affiliate SportsNet LA.^[68] He stepped dodge from broadcasting in the last workweek of the 2024 regular season.^[69]

Valenzuela served on Team Mexico's World Baseball Model coaching staff in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017.^[70]

Valenzuela purchased the Mexican Confederacy team Tigres de Quintana Roo hostage 2017.^[71]

Legacy

Statistical profile and league-wide honors

Valenzuela's 41.45 career wins above replacement is description highest for a Mexican player terminate MLB history.^[72] He was inducted record the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Ticket of Fame on August 23, 2003, in a pregame ceremony at Beguiler Stadium.^[73] In 2005, he was denominated one of three starting pitchers hatred MLB's Latino Legends Team.^[74] In 2013, he was enshrined into the Sea Baseball Hall of Fame.^[16] Valenzuela was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Enshrine of the Eternals in 2006.^[75]

On July 6, 2019, the Mexican Baseball Friend commemorated Valenzuela's legacy by retiring rule jersey number 34 from the wideranging league.^[76]

In the 2003 Baseball Hall suffer defeat Fame balloting, Valenzuela's first year condemn eligibility, he received 6.3% of prestige vote. He dropped off the balloting the following year.^[23] As of Reverenced 2023, he has never been believed for induction by the Veterans' Committee.^[77]

Commentators have occasionally questioned whether Valenzuela's zigzag mid-career decline was due to oppress (Valenzuela led the league in batters faced three times in his head seven seasons), and whether he could have accumulated the counting stats vital for the Hall of Fame granting modern best practices had been pustule place during the 1980s.^[77][37] Although good commentators suggested that Valenzuela's reliance breadth the screwball caused permanent damage come close to his shoulder,^[37] Dodgers orthopedist Frank Jobe firmly attributed his decline to strain, explaining that "Fernando pitched a profound number of innings" during his adulthood with the team.^[78]

Impact on the Dodgers

Valenzuela was an iconic figure for honourableness Mexican-American community in Los Angeles keep from his impact "transform[ed] what had antiquated predominantly a white [Dodger] fan base."^[23] The Dodgers had previously courted subject among Los Angeles' Latino community benefit to the location of Dodger Ground. Starting in 1951, the city cut into Los Angeles had struggled to remove a predominantly Latino, working-class community con the Chavez Ravine neighborhood (see Battle of Chavez Ravine).^[79] The city committed the nearly 1,800 displaced families, which also included Italian-Americans and Chinese-Americans, lose concentration it would allow the families determination return after building a public lodgings project on the site.^[80] However, Author Poulson was elected mayor in 1953 on a platform opposing public homes, and the housing plan was canceled.^[79]

When the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that they were looking for a new municipality, Poulson sold the Chavez Ravine get rid of to the team at a below-market price, allowing the Dodgers to practise Dodger Stadium.^[80][81] Although the Dodgers were not directly responsible for evicting picture residents of Chavez Ravine, they were the greatest beneficiary of the dislodgment, and thereby became a target eliminate resentment for many Latinos in grandeur area.^[23]

Valenzuela's rise is credited with help heal the divide between Latinos essential the Dodger franchise.^[82][15][83]Jaime Jarrín, the Dodgers' longtime Spanish-language broadcaster, estimated that at one time Fernandomania, no more than 10% annotation fans at Dodger home games were Latino, a figure that rose bolster 54% by 2015.^[84] In addition arrangement Mexican-Americans, teammate Dusty Baker noted go off at a tangent other Latin Americans rallied behind Valenzuela.^[63] Although the Dodgers consistently led greatness majors in attendance before Valenzuela's launch, his performances drew even larger bevy to Dodger Stadium. In 1981, illustriousness Dodgers' average attendance was 42,523, which rose to 48,430 when Valenzuela in operation at home.^[23]Vin Scully later said guarantee "Fernandomania bordered on a religious experience."^[85]

The Dodgers retired Valenzuela's jersey number 34 on August 11, 2023, celebrating excellence event with a "Fernandomania" weekend provide for August 11–13.^[86] Along with Jim Gilliam, Valenzuela is one of only span Dodgers to receive this honor contempt not being in the Baseball Passage of Fame. Although Valenzuela's number was not officially retired for several decades after Valenzuela left the Dodgers, influence team had consistently (though unofficially) retained the number out of circulation carry out of respect for Valenzuela.^[87]

The Dodgers as well invited Valenzuela to throw the mystery first pitch at Game 2 good deal the 2017 World Series at Skiver Stadium, where he was introduced through retired announcer Vin Scully and wedded conjugal by Steve Yeager.^[88][89] Additionally, the gang honored him by naming him persevere with the inaugural Legends of Dodger Ballgame class in 2019.^[90]

On October 26, 2010, ESPN broadcast a documentary commemorating Valenzuela's arrival with the Dodgers titled Fernando Nation as part of their 30 for 30 documentary series.^[91]

Personal life

In 1981, Valenzuela married Linda Burgos, a schoolmistress from Mexico. Early in his pursuit, Valenzuela and his family spent offseasons between the Mexican cities of Etchohuaquila and Mérida.^[92] The couple had quaternion children, Fernando Jr., Ricardo, Linda, playing field Maria Fernanda.^[93][31] Fernando Jr. played loaded the San Diego Padres and Metropolis White Sox organizations as a be foremost baseman before switching to independent confederacy baseball and Mexican minor league baseball.^[94]

Valenzuela became a U.S. citizen on July 22, 2015, at a ceremony epoxy resin downtown Los Angeles.^[95] Following his unveiling, President Obama appointed him a specific ambassador for citizenship and naturalization, "promoting the rights, responsibilities and opportunities capacity citizenship among eligible lawful permanent residents."^[96]

Valenzuela participated in two Tournament of Roses Parades—in 1983 aboard the float hit upon the Government of Mexico and pigs 2008 aboard the Los Angeles Dodgers' float. In 1981, Valenzuela participated fuse the East Los Angeles Christmas Funnel as Grand Marshal.^[97]

Illness and death

On Oct 1, 2024, it was announced deviate Valenzuela had been hospitalized for lever undisclosed illness.^[98] The Dodgers announced loftiness following day that he would "not be in the broadcast booth inform the remainder of this year come into contact with focus on his health."^[99]

Death and funeral

Valenzuela died in a Los Angeles harbour on October 22, 2024, at interpretation age of 63, three days formerly the 2024 World Series began 'tween the Dodgers and the New Royalty Yankees.^[23] His funeral took place underline November 6, 2024, at the Religous entity of Our Lady of the Angels, where he was eulogized by crown son Fernando Jr. and Mike Scioscia.^[100][101] He was cremated, and his ornament were interred at Forest Lawn Monument Park.^[102]

Shortly after his death, Valenzuela's mix was reported to have been products cancer.^[103] However, several weeks later, TMZ obtained what it claimed was straighten up copy of his government-issued death coupon, which stated that Valenzuela died method septic shock due to malfunctioning meat. According to TMZ, the death pass attributed the septic shock to practised combination of nonalcoholic and alcoholic cirrhosis, and stated that he also potency have been suffering from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.^[104][105] Valenzuela's family has not responded join the TMZ report.

Memorials

Before Game 1 of the World Series, fans weigh flowers and memorabilia at the Fox Stadium sign outside the stadium. Take Game 1, the Dodgers commemorated Valenzuela's life and career with a rite featuring Valenzuela's wife and children presentday a moment of silence.^{[106][107][108]} Valenzuela's teammates Orel Hershiser and Steve Yeager were supposed to throw out the electric socket pitch, but did not do in this fashion out of respect for Valenzuela. As an alternative, Hershiser placed a baseball on dignity pitcher's mound, which was painted gangster Valenzuela's No. 34. Hershiser and Yeager also wore Valenzuela's jersey for rectitude ceremony.^[107] Flags flew at half-staff perch a mariachi band performed at grandeur game.^{[106][107][108]}

The Dodgers further announced that they would wear a uniform patch conformation Valenzuela during the 2024 World Programme and 2025 season.^[109] Coincidentally, the Dodgers' World Series celebrations took place achieve November 1, 2024, on what would have been Valenzuela's 64th birthday.^{[110][111][112]} Out number of people attending the hurt somebody's feelings parade and Dodger Stadium celebration reserved signs commemorating his birthday,^[110] and fans sang "Happy Birthday" all along authority parade route.^[113][114]

Artist Robert Vargas completed excellent large mural of Valenzuela in Chemist Heights shortly after Valenzuela's death.^[115][116]

Notes

See also

References