Sergio Rojas

For those too young to understand what Fernando Valenzuela meant to Mexico, to Los Angeles, to baseball, here are numbers from the first eight starts of his career in 1981. He was 20. He threw a devastating screwball. And for a month, he was the biggest sports star in the world.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela. “Fernandomania” swept through baseball in 1981 when the 20-year old rookie sensation began the season 8-0 with a 0.50 ERA. The lefthander capped off his incredible year by winning both the NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards while helping lead Los Angeles to a World Series title. Valenzuela pitched 17 Major League seasons, was a 6-time All-Star, and has the most wins (173) and strikeouts (2,074) of any Mexican-born pitcher. He spent the last 22 years as a Spanish language broadcaster for the Dodgers, who retired his No. 34 in 2023. He was 63.