Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born pitcher whose Dodger exploits fueled ‘Fernandomania,’ dies at 63.

Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born Los Angeles Dodgers phenom who inspired “Fernandomania” when he won the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died. He was 63 years old.

The team said he died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital, but did not provide a cause or other details.

His death comes as the Dodgers prepare to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Valenzuela will be honored during the series at Dodger Stadium.

Valenzuela had left his job as a color analyst for the Dodgers’ Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. It is reported that he was hospitalized earlier this month. His work kept him as usual at Dodger Stadium, where he held court in the press box restaurant before games and remained popular with fans who sought his pictures and autographs.

“God bless Fernando Valenzuela!” actor and Dodger fan Danny Trejo posted on X.

Valenzuela was one of the greatest players of his time and a hugely popular figure in the 1980s, although he was never inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, he is part of Cooperstown, which includes several artifacts including a signed ball from his no-hitter in 1990.

“He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes,” Stan Kasten, team president and CEO, said in a statement. “He solidified the fan base during the Fernandomania season of 1981 and has remained close to our hearts ever since, not only as a player but also as a broadcaster. He left us all too soon.”

Valenzuela’s humble beginnings as the youngest of 12 children in Mexico and his performance on the mound made him popular and influential in Los Angeles’ Latino community while helping to attract new fans to Major League Baseball. Their love for him continued for many years after his retirement.

“63 is too young…. An episode of my childhood is gone,” actor and “Access Hollywood” producer Mario Lopez wrote on X. “Growing up as a Mexican kid one of the main reasons I became a Dodgers fan was because of Fernando… Not just a great player, but a great man in the community.

Eva Torres, originally from Mexico City, drove from Anaheim to see Valenzuela’s paintings on Sunset Boulevard near Dodgers Stadium.

“I wasn’t a baseball fan, but I was a fan of his,” he said. “You are like me, an immigrant who came here will do great things.”

In 1981, Valenzuela became the opening day starter for the Dodgers as a rookie after Jerry Reuss was injured 24 hours before his debut. He shutout the Houston Astros 2-0 and started the season 8-0 with five shutouts and a 0.50 ERA. He became the first player to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season.

His performance created a delirium known as “Fernandomania” among Dodgers fans. ABBA’s “Fernando” would play as he warmed up on the mound.

“Fernando Valenzuela was a true icon for the Dodgers and the game,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., wrote in X. “His legacy and connection to the Latino community in LA is one of the reasons I love the Dodgers.”

Valenzuela was 13-7 and had a 2.48 ERA in his first season, which was shortened by a players’ strike.

He was an All-Star selection every year from 1981-86, when he recorded 97 wins, 84 complete games, 1,258 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA. He was 5-1 with a 2.00 ERA in eight postseason starts. He received two Silver Slugger Awards and a Golden Glove.

Valenzuela’s no-hitter on June 29, 1990, a 6-0 win over St. He struck out seven and walked three.

“If you have a sombrero, throw it in the sky!” Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed on his game call.

Nicknamed “El Toro” by fans, Valenzuela had a unique and memorable move that included looking up at the top of each windup. His repertoire included the screwball – making him one of the few players of his era who threw that pitch regularly. He was tutored by teammate Bobby Castillo after the Dodgers learned that Valenzuela, who was not known as a hard thrower, needed another pitch.

Early in his Dodger career, Valenzuela spoke little English and had trouble communicating with his catchers. Rookie Mike Scioscia learned Spanish and became Valenzuela’s catcher before becoming the team’s full-time pitcher.

Valenzuela was an above-average hitter, with 10 home runs.

Eventually, his hitting was compromised by persistent shoulder problems that kept him out of the 1988 postseason, when the Dodgers won the World Series.

The team released Valenzuela just before the 1991 season. He also pitched for the former California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.

He retired in 1997, going 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA in 17 seasons, the all-time major league leader in wins and strikeouts (2,074) by a player of Mexican descent. In 11 seasons with the Dodgers, he was 141-116 with a 3.31 ERA.

Valenzuela’s rise from his small hometown of Etchohuaquila in the Mexican state of Sonora to US prominence was unlikely. He was the youngest child in a large family who tagged along when his older brothers played baseball.

He signed his first pro contract at the age of 16, and soon began to surpass older players in the Mexican Central League.

In 1978, Dodger legend Mike Brito was in Mexico to watch the shortstop when Valenzuela entered the game as a reliever. He soon commanded Brito’s attention and at the age of 18, Valenzuela signed with the Dodgers in 1979. He was sent to the California League that same year.

In 1980, Valenzuela was called up to the Dodgers in September and soon made his major league debut as a reliever.

He remains the only pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. The lefty was the National League’s first baseman in the All-Star Game in 1981, the same year the Dodgers won the World Series.

During his career, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated and visited the White House.

In 2003, Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers as a Spanish radio color commentator for NL games. Twelve years later, he switched to the job of color analyst for the team’s Spanish-language TV feed.

“He has been supporting the growth of the game through the World Baseball Classic and MLB events in his home country,” Manfred said in a statement. “As a member of the Dodger broadcast team for more than 20 years, Fernando helped reach a new generation of fans and grow their love for the game. Fernando will always be a beloved figure in Dodger history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired.”

He was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Five years later, the Mexican League retired Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey. The Dodgers followed suit in 2023 after keeping his number inactive since his last run with the team in 1991. The team has a rule that a player be in the Baseball Hall of Fame before the Dodgers retire his number, but they did. exception to Valenzuela.

The Dodgers named Valenzuela as part of the “Legends of Dodger Baseball” in 2019 and inducted him into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2023.

He became a US citizen in 2015.

Valenzuela served on Mexico’s coaching staff during the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017. He was part owner of Mexican League team Tigres de Quintana Roo, with son Fernando Jr. serving as club president along with son Ricky. acting as general manager. Fernando Jr. he played in the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox organizations as a first baseman.

Besides his sons, he is survived by his wife, Linda, a former teacher from Mexico whom he married in 1981, and daughters Linda and Maria and seven grandchildren.