Episode 2731
Fernando Valenzuela
Thu, 2024-Oct-24 02:19 UTC
Length - 4:14
Direct Link
Welcome to Popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.
With 412,854 views on Wednesday, 23 October 2024 our article of the day is Fernando Valenzuela.
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando βalenˈswela]; November 1, 1960 – October 22, 2024) was a Mexican-American professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except for a one-year sabbatical in Mexico in 1992). While he played for six MLB teams, his longest tenure — and most significant achievements — were with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which signed him in 1979 and gave him his MLB debut in 1980. Valenzuela batted and threw left-handed, with an unorthodox windup. He was one of a small number of pitchers who regularly threw a screwball in the modern era.
Valenzuela enjoyed his breakout year in 1981, when "Fernandomania" rapidly catapulted him from relative obscurity to stardom. He won his first eight starts, five of them shutouts, and dazzled not just the Dodgers and their fans, but all of Major League Baseball. He finished with a record of 13–7 and had a 2.48 ERA in a season that was shortened by a player's strike. He became the first, and as of 2024, only player to win both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. The Dodgers won the World Series that year.
Valenzuela peaked from 1981 to 1986, when he was named a National League (NL) All-Star in each season. He won an NL-leading 21 games in 1986, although Mike Scott of the Houston Astros narrowly beat him out in the Cy Young Award voting. Valenzuela was also one of the better hitting pitchers of his era. He had ten career home runs and was occasionally used by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda as a pinch-hitter. In 1986, he signed the largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history ($5.5 million/3 years). However, nagging shoulder problems diminished the remainder of his Dodgers career. He was on the Dodgers' 1988 World Series championship team, but sat out the postseason with a shoulder injury. On June 29, 1990, Valenzuela threw his only MLB no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals, leading Los Angeles to a 6–0 home victory in his final season as a Dodger. Despite this renewed flash of greatness, the Dodgers unceremoniously released Valenzuela prior to the 1991 season. He spent the rest of his major league career with the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals, before pitching a couple of seasons in Mexico in his 40s.
Valenzuela returned to the Dodgers organization after retiring, serving as a broadcaster from 2003 to 2024, the year of his death. The Dodgers retired his No. 34 in 2023. His career highlights include a win-loss record of 173–153, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.54. His 41.5 career wins above replacement (according to Baseball-Reference) is the highest of any Mexican-born MLB player.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:19 UTC on Thursday, 24 October 2024.
For the full current version of the article, see Fernando Valenzuela on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm neural Niamh.
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