Dodgers’ 20-year-old phenom Fernando Valenzuela captures the imagination of the world and becomes a mythical hero to the Latin community in Southern California
On April 22, 1981, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela tossed his third shutout in four starts as Fernandomania was on the rise that Southern California summer. The young lefthander would go on to win the American League’s Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards that year, becoming the first (and still the only) pitcher to achieve that feat in Major League Baseball history.
But Valenzuela’s popularity was only partially based on performance and more due to his status as a massive cultural hero to the Latin American community in the LA area. Born in Etchohuaquila, a small town within the municipality of Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico, he was a Hispanic hero for a community in search of one.
At the same time, fans of every race and nationality were hypnotized by his achievements and his antics. So, Valenzuela had a widespread appeal that led to his celebrity.
With his whirling delivery, high leg kick, and tendency to lock up to the heavens during his wind-up, Valenzuela was not only animated in his actions, but his emotions as well. He was soon being praised by the media, who portrayed him as the epitome of the American Dream: a young immigrant who made his way to a new kind of freedom and, inevitably, a fortune.
Valenzuela would end up posting a record of 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA, 180 strikeouts, and 11 complete games (8 shutouts) in 192.1 innings as he and the Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
But the phenomenon that bears his name carries just as much reverence and serves as a reminder of a time when a kid from South of the Border was the brightest star in the MLB universe.