Fernandomania: I wax nostalgic
The Dodgers announced that they will celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Fernandomania" with two events next week. The team will honor Valenzuela for his magical 1981 season on "Viva Los Angeles Day" at Dodger Stadium and give away commemorative "Fernandomania" bobbleheads next Tuesday night.
Really, it's been 30 years? Really?
Of course I wax nostalgic, because that was my first year covering the Dodgers and Valenzuela's performance was otherworldly. He pitched a shutout on Opening Day after filling in for injured veteran Jerry Reuss and went on to win his first eight starts -- five of them shutouts. Combined with his performance of the previous September, he was 10-0 with an 0.40 ERA in his first 90 innings in the major leagues. Simply amazing.
What people don't remember was how good of a hitter he was. He also helped his own cause during that early run with some big run-scoring hits. Every start was a party, with mariachi bands playing in the parking lots and the stands full of delirious Mexican-American baseball fans.
Here are some Fernando facts from today's Dodgers news release:
-- Since 1945, Valenzuela is the only player in the Major Leagues to win his first eight career starts.
-- In his first 90 innings with the Dodgers from September 1980 through May 14, 1981, Valenzuela posted a 10-0 record and 0.40 ERA.
-- At home, once fans knew Valenzuela’s next start date, the former Stadium Way box office would sell out that game within 24 hours. In 1981, on a game where Valenzuela was not pitching average attendance was 35,000-40,000, while his starts saw an attendance of more than 50,000.
-- On the road, Valenzuela’s starts would also sell out. In anticipation of a May 1981 roadtrip to New York, the Mets built two extra ticket booths near the subway entrances to accommodate the anticipated rush of fans. The crowd of 39,848 was the Mets' largest of the season, they had been averaging 11,358.
-- Also on the road, the Dodgers’ PR department had to set new media guidelines due to the overwhelming media attention Valenzuela garnered. One press conference was scheduled on Valenzuela's first day in each city on the road and another after he pitched.
-- Valenzuela’s starts also affected television ratings. His May 3, 1981 start at Montreal drew a 19.6 Nielsen rating and 59 share in Los Angeles, an estimated 1.2 million adults watching at home. By comparison, the Game 7 Boston-Philadelphia NBA Eastern Conference final that night drew a 3.6 rating and 10 share.
-- Valenzuela remains the only player in baseball history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards in the same season.
-- Valenzuela became the first rookie pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts since Herb Score of the 1955 Cleveland Indians.
-- Early in the 1981 season, reporters called 76-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell, the former New York Giants lefty known for his screwball pitch. “The first time I saw Fernando, I knew he was a natural,” Hubbell said. “His delivery is just about perfect.”
-- In early May 1981, Valenzuela was invited to appear on the national television program “Good Morning America” even though he did not speak English.
-- Exactly two months after his Opening Day (4/9/81) shutout in his first Major League start, Valenzuela traveled to the White House in Washington and attended a luncheon hosted by President Ronald Reagan for Mexico’s President José López Portillo.
In the accompanying photo, former Orioles star Dennis Martinez, Valenzuela and Seattle Mariners star Edgar Martinez hold up their trophies after being inducted in the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year
Reuters file photo
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Comments
What's most amazing is when he was an O at what, 50? he still had an unhittable screwball. Problem was his fastball was about 82 or 83 mph.
Posted by: eric | July 19, 2011 7:31 PM
Yea, it (he) was something else, wasn't it Pete?! 30 years-WOW!
Posted by: jongermany | July 20, 2011 2:02 AM
Yes Pete, 30 years, really! They say "time flies when you're having fun", wrong it just flies, period!
Being an AL city and game coverage not like it is today, didn't get to see a lot of him in his younger days. Only what you reporters wrote about him, file clips, WS and brief All Star appearances.
Do remember the season he was with the Os. Even though he wasn't the same at 30 something as he was at 20 something, still enjoyed watching him. Think his W/L % was a little under .500 here. Of course being AL never got to see him bat.
Think it's pretty cool they are going to honor him. He is not only a Dodge legend but an MLB one also.
Posted by: Robert Hoke | July 20, 2011 7:27 AM
I was there! I was 29, and drove with two friends to Atlanta to see Valenzuela in mid-September. He pitched a complete game, won 2-0, and had an RBI single. As you say in your story, the place was packed, even though it was Thursday and the Braves were pretty poor that year. "Mania" was a good word for it. I can't think of another player who sparked that kind of reaction.
Posted by: uncle goose | July 20, 2011 10:21 AM
I was living in Anaheim during Fernandomania and it was a great time to be a baseball fan. I remember when local sports personality Jim Hill interviewed him after one of his early shutouts. Fernando spoke little or no English and Lasorda had to interpret for him. It was beautiful! Hill spoke little or no Spanish. One time Hill asked Lasorda what Fernando had said in response to a question and a poker -faced Lasorda said " Jim, Fernando does not like you, He thinks you are a terrible reporter". About four seconds later, Lasorda erupted in gales of laughter. Good ol' KTLA. Another thing was when the great Frank Robinson was managing against the Dodgers and he slipped in a left-handed pinch hitter to neutralize the unhittable screwball of Fernando. All Fernando did was strike the batter out with three consecutive sliders on the outside corner. It was a total EVENT everytime he took the mound. It's really hard to stress the excitement that surrounded him, if you weren't there. Years later I took my two boys down to St. Pete when we shared Al Lang stadium with the Cardinals. We were staying at the Hilton, as were the Orioles. My little boy comes racing out of the men's room screaming at the top of his lungs that he had just peed with Fernando Valenzuela. I kid him about it to this day and he's 31 now. Thanks for the memories, Pete. Great article.
Posted by: bii the lifer o's fan | July 20, 2011 10:26 AM
I think the stat about tickets selling out in 24 hours is amazing. With online sales and online ticket scalping, sellouts aren't uncommon. But in 1981 these people either had to physically go to the box office or call on the phone. That's incredible.
Posted by: Stefan | July 20, 2011 3:28 PM
I was at a game when Fernando was pitching for us back in the early '90s. I was dreading it, assuming he was through, but he shut out the other guys (I forget who) by a solid 6-0 score. And since it was the early '90s, it was probably the only game we won that year.
He was like the Valenzuela off old - he looked to the sky, pitched the ball quickly, and did so again. We were out of there in not much past two houirs.
Posted by: Fang | July 22, 2011 7:21 PM