The MLB and Los Angeles Dodgers are in mourning with the death of famed pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, known as “El Toro.” The Mexican star was one of the most influential Latino baseball players of the 1980s and a national hero in Mexico. He passed away at 63 after leaving the Dodgers broadcasting team to focus on his health.
Social media posts and praise from all over the baseball and sports community poured in as the news of his death comes on the eve of the Dodgers‘ game against the New York Yankees for the MLB World Series.
Mexican soccer icon Hugo Sánchez called Fernando Valenzuela, “a person who served as a sports symbol for us,” on ESPN’s Futbol Picante, adding, “When they watched a match with the three (Fernando, Julio César Chávez, and Hugo Sánchez), the country would come to a standstill. Now Fernando has stopped us all.”
Fernando Valenzuela Stats
Fernando Valenzuela played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, 11 of them for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the height of his career. El Toro also played for the California Angels (1991), Baltimore Orioles (1993), Philadelphia Phillies (1994), San Diego Padres (1995–1997), and lastly, the St. Louis Cardinals (1997).
His MLB all-time record stands at 173-153 with over 2,000 strikeouts and a 3.54 ERA. Among his accolades, Valenzuela was a 6-time All-Star from 1981 to 1986, won the World Series in 1981, and also received the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in 1981.
He was the NL wins leader in 1986, pitched a no-hitter in June of 1990, and had his number 34 retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Fernando Valenzuela influence on MLB and Latinos
However, his most significant legacy was stimulating Latino enthusiasm for MLB, leading to increased attendance at his games and boosting TV and radio coverage across Mexico. In 1981, eleven of his twelve starts at Dodger Stadium sold out. His fandom was called “Fernandomania.”