Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea is a former pitcher in American baseball. He has played for different teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels (Los Angeles Angels), Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.
Fernando Valenzuela was born on November 1, 1960 in Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico. He had his early baseball career in Mexico before making the jump to MLB. He made his MLB debut for the Dodgers on September 15, 1980. He is known for attracting large numbers of the Latino community from Los Angeles, which led to the term “Fernandomania”. He was also nicknamed “El Toro” because of his baseball skills. He is a 6-time All-Star from 1981-1986. He has also won 2 Silver Slugger Awards in 1981 and 1983. Furthermore, he won the NL Cy Young Award and the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 1981. He also pitched his first and only no-hitter in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 29, 1980 leading the Dodgers to win the game 6-0.
Fernando Valenzuela has notched up a win-loss record of 173-153 with an ERA of 3.54 with 2074 strikeouts, pitched in 2930.0 and has a WHIP of 1.32. He was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Fernando Valenzuela and the Baseball Hall of Fame
Fernando Valenzuela is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is because although he seemed like a future Hall of Famer in the beginning, his career declined as it progressed. He had his best seasons in the 1981 and 1986 MLB seasons. Post that, he was not as effective of a pitcher as he used to be. He suffered from shoulder problems and was not level to pitch in enough games to gain Hall of Fame longevity. In his second year of eligibility in 2004. He was removed from the ballot because he earned only 3.8% votes at the time.
Despite this, he is still loved by the fans and the Dodgers will finally retire his jersey No.34 with a Ring of Honour ceremony on August 11, 2023. However, Fernando Valenzuela was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Read more About:- Fernando Valenzuela All-Star Appearances
FAQ's On Fernando Valenzuela Hall of Fame
A. Fernando Valenzuela is from Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico.
A. Fernando Valenzuela is a 6-time All-Star from 1981-1986.
A. Fernando Valenzuela threw his only no-hitter on June 29, 1980 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
A. Fernando Valenzuela scored 2074 strikeouts in his career.
A. Fernando Valenzuela started Fernandomania by attracting large numbers of the Latino community from Los Angeles to the games.
