Fernando Valenzuela, Dodgers legend, dead at 63

Fernando Valenzuela, Dodgers legend, dead at 63


Dodgers legend and six-time All-Star Fernando Valenzuela died on Tuesday night, Major League Baseball announced.

He was 63.

No cause of death was given.

Fernando Valenzuela was a phenomenon with the Dodgers. AP

Valenzuela made his MLB debut in 1980 but truly burst onto the scene one year later, where he won the National League Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and made his first All-Star team, sweeping up Los Angeles in “Fernandomania.”


Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitches during the eighth inning to set the professional baseball record for most innings of holding his earn run average at zero in Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles  Sunday, April 28, 1985.
Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitches in 1985. AP

In that 1981 season — which he also claimed a Silver Slugger — he helped the Dodgers defeat the Yankees in the World Series.

He pitched 17 years in the big leagues, winning 173 games and holding a 3.54 ERA.

Over the last 22 years, he was a Spanish language broadcaster for the Dodgers.



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