Editing Fernando Valenzuela (section)

===Early career in Mexico===
In 1977, Valenzuela began his professional baseball career, signing with the [[Mayos de Navojoa]] of the [[Mexican Pacific League]]. A year later, he was sent to the [[Guanajuato Tuzos]] of the [[Mexican Central League]], posting a 5–6 [[win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] with a 2.23 [[earned run average]] (ERA). The following year, the Mexican Central League was absorbed into the expanded [[Mexican League]], automatically elevating then 18-year-old Valenzuela to the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A level]]. Pitching for the [[Leones de Yucatán]] that year, Valenzuela went 10–12 with a 2.49 ERA and 141 [[strikeout]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fernando Valenzuela: 2016 CALIFORNIA SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE|publisher=California Sports Hall of Fame|url=http://californiasportshalloffame.org/inductees/fernando-valenzuela/|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref>

A number of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) teams [[scout (sport)|scouted]] Valenzuela during this time. [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] owner [[Walter O'Malley]], conscious of the large Latino population in Los Angeles, had wanted a Mexican ace pitcher for some time.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Scott |date=October 23, 2024 |title=Fernandomania Wasn't a Fairy Tale. It Was Better Than That. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/style/fernando-valenzuela-fernandomania.html |access-date=October 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Even so, the Dodgers found Valenzuela by accident. They sent scout [[Mike Brito]] to a game in Mexico to evaluate a shortstop named Ali Uscanga. Valenzuela threw three balls to Uscanga to fall behind in the count and then threw three straight strikes for the strikeout. Brito said later that at that point, he "forgot all about the shortstop".<ref name=Gonzalez>{{cite web|last1=Gonzalez|first1=Alden|title=Valenzuela inducted into Caribbean Hall of Fame|url=http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/41377532/fernando-valenzuela-inducted-into-caribbean-hall-of-fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001040/http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/41377532/fernando-valenzuela-inducted-into-caribbean-hall-of-fame|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2016|work=[[MLB.com]]|access-date=April 15, 2015|date=February 3, 2013}}</ref> The Dodgers bought out Valenzuela's Liga contract on July 6, 1979, for $120,000 (about $521,158 in 2024), of which $20,000 went to Valenzuela and $100,000 went to the team.<ref name="findarticles1" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Weisman |first=Jon |date=October 22, 2024 |title=Brothers in Arms excerpt: Fernando Valenzuela |url=https://www.dodgerthoughts.com/2024/10/22/brothers-in-arms-excerpt-fernando-valenzuela/ |access-date=October 24, 2024 |website=Dodger Thoughts |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[New York Yankees]] subsequently offered $150,000, but the Leones honored their original deal, and Valenzuela became a Dodger.<ref name=":10" />