Thank you, Fernando: How a Dodgers legend captured my childhood heart

For those who bleed blue. This day hurts. It stings.

I was a 10-year-old kid in 1981. A young Dodgers fan who was mesmerized by the bright lights of night games and the taste of Dodger Dogs hot off the grill. Every player seemed larger than life.

And then — this 20-year-old kid out of Sonora, Mexico named Fernando Valenzuela seemed to come out of nowhere. Valenzuela had been called up to the big leagues from the minors late during the previous season and did well as a relief pitcher. But, no one, and I mean no one, could have anticipated what was about to happen next.

Valenzuela was named the starter of Opening Day 1981 against the Houston Astros because the Dodgers ace pitcher at the time, Jerry Reuss, got injured the day before and their number two pitcher Burt Hooten apparently wasn’t ready.

So, in steps Valenzuela. No one knew what to expect.

I remember watching that game. I was like “Who is this Fernando guy?”

Then came his first strikeout. Then another.

Final Score: Dodgers 2 Astros 0.

For some reason, I remember that score. In fact, it’s the only Opening Day Dodgers score I ever remember.

Fernando had his first win as a starter. His first shutout. Amazing.

Then he won again and again and again. Before you knew it, Valenzuela was 8-0!
I was hooked. So was every Dodgers fan. Fernandomania was on!

With each win, the city of Los Angeles was whipped into a frenzy. Every time Fernando took the mound- — a sell-out crowd yearned for more… MORE.

Fernando Valenzuela signs autographs at Dodger Stadium in his rookie season.

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea

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Getty Images

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Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches at Dodger Stadium circa 1986

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Owen C. Shaw

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Getty Images

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Manager Tommy Lasorda #2 walks with Fernando Valenzuela #34 of the Los Angeles Dodgers on to the field for a game in spring training in Vero Beach, Fl.

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea

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Getty Images

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Fans from the city’s large Mexican and Mexican American community cheered with pride. One of their own was dominating the game of baseball.

Even when the Dodgers took their show on the road, packed stadiums and opposing crowds couldn’t get enough of Fernando.

Fernandomania was at a whole new level. Remember, this was way before social media, YouTube or the 24/7 cycle of ESPN. This was organic. Word-of-mouth. You had to see it for yourself.

I sure did. Fernando was “Must See TV” before NBC ever coined the term.

I will always remember him as the pitcher with a pudgy physique, a devastating screwball (I don’t know anyone who throws this pitch anymore), and a unique delivery where photographs captured it best: his right leg kicking high and his eyes looking upward as if to the heavens above.

Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during an MLB game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago

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Ron Vesely

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Getty Images

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Vendors hawk Fernandomania merch outside Dodger Stadium in the spring of 1981.

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Rob Brown

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Herald Examiner Collection/L.A. Public Library

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By the end of his rookie season, Fernando Valenzuela accomplished something no other pitcher in Major League Baseball had ever done. He won both the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in the same season. And oh yeah… he helped the Dodgers win the World Series that year.

Which brings me to this: The death of Fernando Valenzuela comes just as the Dodgers and Yankees face off in the World Series. The last time these two teams met up? 1981. Yup… Fernando’s rookie season.

Every Dodgers fan will enter the World Series with a heavy heart. We all remember what Fernando Valenzuela meant to the game, to the Dodgers, and to the many fans. Fernando was my childhood. Even now I smile like I did back in 1981. A 10-year-old kid who wanted a hero wearing Dodger Blue and got it in Fernando Valenzuela.