RIP Fernando Valenzuela

Hated the Dodgers. Still hate the Dodgers. Liked Fernando.

 

It was also magical when they played the All-Star Game. Yes, it was nice to see Wade Boggs or Don Mattingly, but it was also cool to see guys in lesser known markets like Mark Langston, Teddy Higuera or whatever Texas Ranger made it.

 

Manfred was on Dan Patrick this morning and said the reason they stuck with those uniforms is that they sold a lot of them, even with all the blowback they got.

 

Incredibly sad way to check the site this morning. Fernando Valenzuela was the No. 1 reason to follow the Dodgers in 1981, propelling an aging team into the World Series. As with Mark Fidrych in 1976, L.A. -- and the rest of the country -- was infected with Fernandomania five years later. Even the stupid mid-season strike couldn't extinguish the fire that he brought to that season.

Like the Bird, gone too soon. Unlike the Bird, he pitched an entire career and was a workhorse for the Dodgers for the rest of the decade before Father Time caught up with him.

A lot of folks forget he was no slouch at the plate. He hit .200 with 10 homers in over 1,000 career PAs.

But man, the memories of 1981 will last forever. RIP, El Toro.

 

Wow. This is going to mess me up for awhile.

 

The All-Star Game used to look like a medieval village - bursts of color everywhere.

The sub-mediocrity of those uniforms is perfect for Manfred's MLB.

 

I loved it when I was young. I love it even more now that I'm older.

There was no way This Week In Baseball was going to miss paying tribute to Fernando Valenzuela in their closing credits.

"Gathering Crowds" is the name of the song. Even though it's just program music, it brings goosebumps every time I hear it. Fernando richly deserves to be part of that legacy.

Someone ought to compile a list of all of the players who were paid tribute in TWIB's closing credits to that song. It really is a great way to remember many of the greats and some of the not-so-greats too.

(This version from 1982: Pete Rose, Tom Brookens?, Dave Winfield, Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons, Nolan Ryan, Fernando Valenzuela, Richie Zisk, Cesar Geronimo as a Royal and Steve Rogers!)

It also drives home the point of what we've lost with starting pitching no longer being emphasized to the same degree it was then.