Dodgers legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela has died at age 63 after becoming hospitalized with an undisclosed illness.
ABC7 Eyewitness NewsPitcher Fernando Valenzuela, a Dodgers icon whose "Fernandomania" fame swept through all of baseball in the 1980s, has died at age 63.
Fernando Valenzuela was born in 1960 in the small town of Etchohuaquila in Sorona, Mexico -- the youngest of 12 children -- and inherited the love of baseball from his father Avelino, a farmer.At the age of 17, Valenzuela began his journey towards Major League Baseball -- first playing pro ball in the Mexican Central League and Mexican Baseball League.
While playing in Lodi, Brito noticed that Valenzuela's fastball didn't improve and told General Manager Al Campanis that Valenzuela would need another pitch besides his curveball to survive the majors. The 1981 players strike wiped out part of the season, but Valenzuela still finished 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA. He also won both the Rookie of the Year and the CY Young Award.
Valenzuela didn't speak English, was soft-spoken overall and a private person, which helped him deal with the pressure of instant stardom. The joke was -- Fernando didn't know the meaning of the word "pressure."
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