Legendary Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela has died at the age of 63

Fernando Valenzuela, the initiator of “Fernandomania” while winning the 1981 National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year honors as the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, has died at age 63.

The Dodgers announced the news and said Valenzuela died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital. They did not provide any information about the cause or further details.

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

After playing in the majors for 17 seasons, Valenzuela served as the Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers beginning in 2003. He had stepped away from his broadcasting duties before the start of these playoffs to “focus on his health,” the team said.

Valenzuela, who was born in Navojoa, Mexico and was called up as a reliever late in the 1980 season, took the baseball world by storm during the strike-shortened 1981 season. After Jerry Reuss was injured on the eve of Opening Day, Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda handed the ball to the 20-year-old Valenzuela, who had never started a major league game in his career.

He responded with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros and began the season with an 8-0 record, including five shutouts, and a 0.50 ERA.

“Tommy Lasorda came up to me and said, ‘Are you ready to pitch tomorrow?’ I said, ‘I’m ready,'” Valenzuela recalled in 2023. “This is what I was looking for, the opportunity to show what I can do.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers are mourning the loss of legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. pic.twitter.com/MXeBlDzDWJ

– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 23, 2024

In addition to his Mexican roots, Valenzuela’s throwing motion – the powerful figure looking skyward at the top of each windup – was a hit. His signature pitch was the screwball, which his teammate Bobby Castillo taught him in 1979. During Valenzuela’s warm-ups, ABBA’s hit “Fernando” played over the speakers. Numerous Latino fans showed up at home and away to see “El Toro,” the bull.

Although Valenzuela was not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he remains a part of Cooperstown, where several of his artifacts are on display, including an autographed ball from his 1990 no-hitter.

“His charisma was incredible,” Hall of Fame Dodgers Spanish-language announcer Jaime Jarrin said in 2023. “The fact that he came here to the major leagues after just a few weeks in San Antonio at Double-A – and from the beginning he was just great and people fell in love with him.

“He was only 19 years old. A little chubby, long hair, Yaqui Indian features,” said Jarrin, who served as Valenzuela’s interpreter early in his career. “These things really cultivated people and they fell in love with Fernando within a few weeks.”

Valenzuela finished the 1981 season with a record of 13-7, 2.48 ERA, 11 complete games and 8 shutouts. He led the National League with 192⅓ innings pitched and led the majors with 180 strikeouts. He became the first player to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award.

This season marked the start of six straight All-Star appearances for the left-hander. Valenzuela finished third in Cy Young voting in 1982, fifth in 1985 and second in 1986 before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of his career. With the Dodgers, he won another World Series title in 1988 (though he did not pitch in the postseason) and the Silver Slugger Award in 1981 and 1983.

“He is one of the most influential Dodgers ever and belongs on the Mount Rushmore of franchise heroes,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. “He thrilled the fan base with the 1981 Fernandomania season and has been very close to our hearts ever since, not only as a player but also as a presenter. He left us far too soon. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Linda and his family.”

Valenzuela played for the Dodgers from 1980 to 1990, including a no-hitter on June 29, 1990 that resulted in a 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. It was an emotional career highlight for Valenzuela, who scored seven times and scored three times.

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

From 1983 to 1987, Valenzuela averaged 262 innings and 13 complete games for the Dodgers. He had a streak of 255 consecutive starts that ended in August 1988. He recorded 20 complete games in 1986, when he won a league-high 21 games and had a 3.14 ERA. He played 96 complete games in his first seven seasons.

He retired in 1997 and Valenzuela remains one of the franchise’s all-time leaders in wins (141), strikeouts (1,759), innings pitched (2,348⅔), starts (320), complete games (107) and shutouts (29).

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

He signed his first professional contract at 16 and soon began overpowering older players in the Mexican Central League.

In 1978, legendary Dodgers scout Mike Brito was in Mexico looking at shortstop when Valenzuela came into the game as a reliever. He immediately caught Brito’s attention and at the age of 18, Valenzuela signed with the Dodgers in 1979. That same year he was sent to the California League.

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

Valenzuela’s rise from humble beginnings in Mexico and his accomplishments on the mound made him extremely popular and influential in Los Angeles’ Latino community while helping to attract new fans to the MLB. Her affection for him continued years after his retirement.

“Fernando was an outstanding ambassador for baseball,” Manfred said in a statement Tuesday night. “He has consistently supported the growth of the game through the World Baseball Classic and at MLB events in his home country. As a member of the Dodger broadcast team for more than 20 years, Fernando has helped reach a new generation of fans and cultivate their love of the game.

“Fernando will always remain a beloved figure in Dodgers history and a special source of pride for the millions of Latino fans he inspired.”

Valenzuela was unceremoniously released by the Dodgers in March 1991, a few days before the start of the season. Over the next seven seasons, he played for five more teams – the California Angels (1991), Baltimore Orioles (1993), Philadelphia Phillies (1994), San Diego Padres (1995-97) and the Cardinals (1997) before moving to the Retired with a record of 173-153, 3.54 ERA and 2,074 strikeouts over 17 campaigns.

Six years after his playing career ended – and 14 years after he threw his last pitch for the Dodgers – Valenzuela returned in 2003 as a member of the Dodgers’ broadcast team.

Breaking with their tradition of retiring only Hall of Famers’ numbers, the Dodgers retired his number, 34, during a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium in August 2023. The number had been unofficially retired and had never been worn by another player since Valenzuela was released by the team 32 years ago.

Valenzuela, who became a U.S. citizen in 2015, served on the coaching staff for Mexico during the 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was part owner of the Mexican league team Tigres de Quintana Roo, with his son Fernando as team president and son Ricky as general manager. Fernando Valenzuela Jr. played as a first baseman in the Padres and Chicago White Sox organizations.

In addition to his sons, Valenzuela is survived by his wife Linda, a teacher from Mexico, whom he married in 1981, and daughters Linda and Maria, as well as seven grandchildren.

ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.