(In the event, the system was reformed again after the third fruitless election for players and the second for other contributors in February 2007.). Long ago, he began golfing, giving pro golfers and amateur hackers in Southern California tales of Fernando sightings, from tony country clubs to city courses. BREAKING: Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, a stalwart of the Dodgers' rotation spanning an era from Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela, has died. Morris was a marginal choice propelled by hype-though he won more games than any pitcher in the 1980s. Many of these residents were Mexican Americans, who became embittered and remained cool to the Dodgers for decades afterward. If not for Fernando Valenzuela's incredible rookie performance and "Fernandomania" taking the sport by storm, Raines would've easily won the 1981 NL Rookie of the Year Award. He's irreplaceable. Fernando Valenzuela 2016 CALIFORNIA SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE Valenzuela began his professional baseball career at the age of 17 with the Guanajuato Tuzos, going 5-6 with a 2.23 ERA. Forty years later, there are still memories.. The Alamillo article pointed to another article that states that of the 3.9 million fans in attendance in 2015, 2.1 million were Latino. They want to play for the Dodgers, they root for the Dodgers and the Dodgers are winning because of a Mexican. Im not saying Fernando cured all the racism in Southern California, but he was definitely a bridge to let people know that we are OK., The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn after the 1957 season and played their first four seasons in Los Angeles at Memorial Coliseum. Later that summer, Valenzuela attended a state luncheon at the White House with President Ronald Reagan. The 2002 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Results are detailed in full by Baseball Almanac. During his six-year peak run from 1981-86, he sported a 2.97 ERA in 1,537 innings with 84 complete games and 26 shutouts. Valenzuela only lasted two years on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot before being dropped for lack of votes, meaning he seemingly never had a chance to add his No. The two of them are worthy candidates for the Hall of Fame if you do not use merely the stat lines as your criteria. And with the roots of the movement starting with the . What he accomplished from 1980 to 1987 ranks atop any pre steroid performer like Roger Clemens. Valenzuela also pitched 251 innings in 1987. The widespread calls spoke to the enormity of Valenzuelas legacy. 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How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Your email address will not be published. He threw 113 complete games, including 31 shutouts. Fernando Valenzuela's short peak removed him from the MLB Hall of Fame conversation. R. Richard Eddie Rommel Charley Root Al Rosen Schoolboy Rowe Pete Runnels Jimmy Ryan Johnny Sain Manny Sanguilln Ron Santo Hank Sauer Wally Schang Hal Schumacher George Scott Rip Sewell Bob Shawkey Urban Shocker Roy Sievers Curt Simmons Vern Stephens Riggs Stephenson Mel Stottlemyre Harry Stovey Jesse Tannehill Tony Taylor Johnny Temple Fred Tenney Bobby Thomson Mike Tiernan Joe Torre Cecil Travis Hal Trosky Virgil Trucks George Van Haltren Johnny Vander Meer Bobby Veach Mickey Vernon Dixie Walker Bucky Walters Lon Warneke Will White Cy Williams Ken R. Williams Maury Wills Wilbur Wood Glenn Wright Jimmy Wynn Rudy York, Gene Autry Buzzie Bavasi Samuel Breadon Charles Bronfman Gussie Busch George W. Bush Roger Craig Harry Dalton Bill Dinneen Charles Dressen Barney Dreyfuss Chub Feeney John Fetzer Charles O. Finley John Galbreath Larry Goetz Calvin Griffith Fred Haney Doug Harvey Garry Herrmann Whitey Herzog John Heydler Ralph Houk Bob Howsam Fred Hutchinson Ewing Kauffman Bowie Kuhn Frank Lane Billy Martin Gene Mauch Marvin Miller Danny Murtaugh Hank O'Day Walter O'Malley Steve O'Neill Paul Owens Steve Palermo Gabe Paul Joan Payson Babe Pinelli Bob Quinn Alfred Reach Beans Reardon Paul Richards Cy Rigler Bill Rigney Ben Shibe Charles Somers Billy Southworth George Stallings Bill Summers Cedric Tallis Chuck Tanner Birdie Tebbetts Patsy Tebeau Chris von der Ahe Lee Weyer Bill White Dick Williams Phil Wrigley. Reflecting on his rookie season, Valenzuela spoke of the importance of the emergency start he made on opening day. Fernando Valenzuela was one of MLB's most beloved players over his 17-season career. No Dodgers player has worn Valenzuelas jersey No. I remember how his rivals laughed at his delivery and his weight. Fernando Valenzuela (1981/1981) [8]-NL 4. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to vote. He placed in the top 5 in Cy Young voting 4 times in. This story was originally published on April 16, 2021. My slider wasnt very good. Fernandos peak from late 1980-1986 was filled with high performance, and historic impact on the game. How many of them impacted the fans like Fernando did? Especially in L.A., this guy still inspires us. How many strikeouts did Fernando Valenzuela have? My dad couldn wait to watch Los Doyers and I could not wait to watch the game with him regardless of who was playing for the Dodgers all because of Fernando Valenzuela. It seemed like there was nothing he couldnt do. Viva Fernandomania! Valenzuela had a solid career, finishing with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1997. Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela delivers during a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on May 23, 1984. Dodgers: The Hall of Fame Case for Fernando Valenzuela. Lasorda, who could communicate effectively in Spanish with Latin American players after several seasons managing in the Dominican Winter League, visited the mound after Cerones homer with his pitcher on the ropes. Among 85 eligible voters, 81 cast ballots so 61 votes were the minimum to elect a candidate. High pitch counts in an era when nobody cared about pitch counts, six straight seasons of 250 or more innings pitched when that type of workload was the norm, and the stress placed on his shoulder by repeatedly throwing his screwball shortened Valenzuelas career and ultimately thwarted his Hall of Fame candidacy. The Dodgers were down 0-2 against the Yankees. When he came up in 1980, you saw there was a composure that he had, a poise that sometimes players have to work into. On January 8, 2002, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) conducted their yearly ballot for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The field included four Rookies of the Year (Murray, Valenzuela, Vince Coleman and Todd Worrell), as well as one MVP (Sandberg) and two Cy Young Award winners (Valenzuela and Mark Davis). If theres someone [else] that can wear it, thats no problem. The next season, when he was only 20, Valenzuela energized fans in Los Angeles, Mexico and throughout the big leagues with one of the more remarkable seasons in baseball history. His favorite venue was Dodger Stadium and the nights Valenzuela pitched were magical. His family lived on a dirt road that was filled with potholes, he says. His next 18 pitches were strikes, Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia told the Times. A few families held out and refused to leave their homes, even after the city sold the land to O'Malley for the stadium. It was a historic run that almost didnt happen. Five years earlier, a statue of Valenzuela was erected at the entrance of Estadio de Bisbol Charros de Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico. The baseball world -- on and off the field -- would never be the same. Valenzuela had a career record of 173 wins and 153 losses. When we see managers, commissioners, and front office personnel elected to the Hall of Fame with sketchy contributions to the game, and players like Fernando Valenzuela are not, then something is wrong. While the ERA looks impressive, the Mexican Center League was a low-offense environment and three team staffs had lower ERAs. Im someone who is very reserved, Valenzuela says. Leading up to the celebration Sunday of Valenzuelas landmark rookie season, there were renewed pleas for the franchise to make an exception to its arbitrary policy of retiring only the numbers of Hall of Famers. And then the next wave was Fernando, who captured the attention of the entire Hispanic world.. Ryne Sandberg was selected a total of ten times, while Eddie Murray (eight times), Lee Smith (seven), Fernando Valenzuela (six) and Tony Pea (five) were all selected at least five times. / George Rose/Getty Images, Latino, Hispanic, Latinx, Chicano: The History Behind the Terms, https://www.history.com/news/fernando-valenzuela-fernandomania-los-angeles-dodgers, When 20-Year-Old Rookie Fernando Valenzuela Captivated LAand Major League Baseball. Lasorda stuck with Valenzuela and the managers faith in the pitcher was rewarded when Fernando shut down the Yankees the rest of the way. But even Jaffe, a seasoned analyst who relies on hard numbers to make Hall of Fame cases, has a soft spot for Valenzuela. Mexican-Americans Lalo and Mark Guerrero, a father-and-son songwriting team, got into the act with tribute songs, "Fernando, El Toro" and "Ol! Meanwhile, six Hall of Fame members independently selected five nominated players, making 25 to 30 players. Valenzuela received 6.2% of the votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his first year on the ballot in 2003 and fell off the writers ballot after receiving less than 5% of the vote in '04. It has sustained itself to the point where I really believe half the crowds at Dodger Stadium now are Latinos.. Now, more than 40% of the teams fans are Latino. Came from Mexico in the late 70's, and Fernando made him a baseball fan. They also know his voice in Southern California because he broadcasts Dodgers games in Spanish. But Fernando at age 20 did not say he was going to redeem the past sins of civic Los Angeles, real estate developers, the Red Scare, progressive activists and racism. In the early '80s, theres still this huge migration wave from Mexico that brought up my parents, brought up all of my friends and the parents of my friends, Arellano says. Through it all, Valenzuelas teammates marveled at his poise and his athletic ability. Fernando Valenzuela. Seaver, who was 7-1 in each half of the split season, got eight first-place votes, seven for second. In rural Mexico, they would beat 'lefthanded-ness' out of you. There have been some rumblings about that, right? He led the MCL with 91 strikeouts. He threw 63.2 innings in the post season with an ERA of 1.98. Why do they keep ignoring the fact that he was one of th e best? As the legend goes, Lasorda told Valenzuela in his native language that if he didnt give up any more runs, the Dodgers would win the game, and that Fernando, who was rarely heard speaking English at that time, answered, Are you sure?, I really dont remember, but I think that yes, it was something like that, Valenzuela says. Fernando had three great years and hung around-not enough. Only three players led by Gil Hodges (61%) tallied more than fifty percent support. That list starts with Jackie Robinson for African Americans, and it also includes Hideo Nomo and Ichiro for the Japanese, Chan Ho Park for Koreans, Tony Lazzeri for Italian-Americans and Al Simmons (Szymanski) for Polish-Americans. ', So, Fernando in many ways, even though he never had to say it, he was a bridge to let Americans know that, Hey, its going to be OK. When he pitched, attendance rose dramatically at home and away games. He could hit, he could bunt, field his position. 20), manager Walter Alston (No. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 39), Jackie Robinson (No. Long before we got here, they established a policy, which I agree with, and that is that we'll just use Hall of Fame people for retired numbers. Overuse, along with throwing a screwball, were probably the main culprits of his shortened career. 173153 and a 3.54 earned run averagethose are HOF numbers? Im open to the idea that baseball should be recognizing more of these cultural figures in the Hall of Fame, Jaffe says. Good pitcher and all that Fernando mania stuff but not HOF. First of all, Valenzuela was on the HoF ballot for the first time in 2003 and fell off in 2004. But the team alienated the city's large Hispanic population from the start. Mexican-Americans Lalo and Mark Guerrero, a father-and-son songwriting team, got into the act with tribute songs, Fernando, El Toro and Ol! He had it right away, and I think it was exemplified in that game, Game 3, against the Yankees.
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