Editing Fernando Valenzuela (section)

=== "Fernandomania" ===
[[File:Fernando Valenzuela in bullpen.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Valenzuela  pitching for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] in 1981]]
Following his successful stint as a reliever in 1980, Valenzuela transitioned to a full-time starter role in his 1981 rookie season. He was unexpectedly named the Dodgers' [[Opening Day]] starter as a rookie after [[Jerry Reuss]] was injured 24 hours before his scheduled start, and [[Burt Hooton]] was not ready to fill in.<ref name="brown" /> At first, Valenzuela did not think manager [[Tommy Lasorda]] was serious.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last=Guzman |first=Ed |date=October 22, 2024 |title=Dodgers star Fernando Valenzuela, who sparked Fernandomania, dies |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-10-22/dodgers-fernando-valenzuela-fernandomania-obit |url-access=limited |access-date=October 22, 2024 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> However, he filled in and [[Shutout (baseball)|shut out]] the [[Houston Astros]] 2–0.<ref name=brown>{{cite news|last=Brown |first=Daniel |title=Jeremy Lin: Fernando Valenzuela understands Lin-Sanity first hand |date=February 16, 2012 |newspaper=San Jose Mercury News |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19982777 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427035002/http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19982777 |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was the first rookie to start Opening Day for the Dodgers.<ref name=":7" />

Valenzuela enjoyed one of the hottest starts to a career in MLB history. He began the season 8–0 with seven [[complete game]]s, five [[shutout (baseball)|shutouts]] and an ERA of 0.50.<ref name="jaffe_08142023">{{cite web|first=Jay|last=Jaffe|title=The Dodgers Finally Call Fernando Valenzuela's Number|date=August 14, 2023|work=FanGraphs|url=https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-dodgers-finally-call-fernando-valenzuelas-number/|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref> In addition to his dominance on the mound, Valenzuela's unusual and flamboyant pitching motion—including a glance skyward at the apex of each wind-up—drew attention of its own.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/alex_belth/08/04/five.phenoms/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830113816/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/alex_belth/08/04/five.phenoms/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 30, 2006|title=SI.com – Writers – Alex Belth: The five true pitching phenoms – Tuesday August 8, 2006 11:33AM|publisher=Sportsillustrated.cnn.com|date= August 4, 2006|access-date=July 25, 2009}}</ref> His most prominent and effective pitch was the screwball,<ref name=":11">{{cite news|first=Bruce|last=Schoenfeld|title=The Mystery of the Vanishing Screwball|date=July 10, 2014|work=The New York Times Magazine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/magazine/the-mystery-of-the-vanishing-screwball.html|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref> which had not been a popular pitch for decades.<ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Gutierrez|title=Remembering Fernando Valenzuela and Fernandomania|date=October 23, 2024|work=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.co.uk/mlb/story/_/id/38168721/fernandomania-los-angeles-dodgers-fernando-valenzuela|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref>

An instant media icon, Valenzuela drew large crowds from Los Angeles' Latino community every time he pitched, and his rookie 1981 Topps and Fleer [[baseball card]]s were in high demand. The craze surrounding Valenzuela came to be known as "Fernandomania".<ref name="wilson" /> The Dodgers' Spanish radio broadcast ratings on [[KTNQ]] jumped from 3.4 to 8.6.<ref name=":2"/> His starts drew large crowds in every city.<ref name="jaffe_08142023" /> During his warm-up routine at Dodger Stadium, the PA system would play [[ABBA]]'s 1976 hit song "[[Fernando (song)|Fernando]]". He became the first player to win the [[Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year Award]] and the [[Cy Young Award]] in the same season, and finished fifth in NL MVP voting. He was also the first rookie to lead the NL in strikeouts. The Dodgers won the [[1981 World Series|World Series that season]].<ref name="brown" />

[[File:President Ronald Reagan shaking hands with Fernando Valenzuela and Antonio DeMarco with Leonore Annenberg in the background (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|In 1981, President [[Ronald Reagan]] invited Valenzuela to the [[White House]] for a state luncheon with Mexican president [[José López Portillo]].<ref name=":8" />]]
Valenzuela was less dominant after the [[1981 Major League Baseball strike|1981 player strike]] wiped out the middle third of the season, but the left-hander still finished with a 13–7 record and a 2.48 ERA. He led the majors in shutouts (8) and strikeouts (180), and led the NL in complete games (11) and innings pitched (192.1). He was also second in the NL in wins (13). He demonstrated his unusually good batting (for a pitcher) by batting .250 and striking out just nine times in 64 at-bats.<ref name="br" /> He became the first Dodgers pitcher to win the NL [[Silver Slugger Award]].<ref name="almanac">{{cite web |title=MLB STATS FOR FERNANDO VALENZUELA |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=valenfe01 |access-date=October 23, 2024 |work=Baseball Almanac}}</ref>

In [[1981 National League Division Series#Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros|the NL West Division Series]] against the [[Houston Astros]], Valenzuela became the youngest pitcher to start the first game of any postseason series.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Oct15/0,4670,BBNNLCS,00.html|work=Fox News|agency=AP|title=Phillies lead Dodgers 5–4 after 6|date=May 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119095220/http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Oct15/0,4670,BBNNLCS,00.html|archive-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref> He also threw a 147-pitch{{Efn|Various outlets have reported differing pitch counts, although it is generally accepted that Valenzuela threw over 145 pitches.<ref name=":9"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Duarte |first=Michael |date=October 23, 2024 |title=Fernando Valenzuela's remarkable rookie season with the Dodgers in 1981 will live on forever |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/fernando-valenzuelas-remarkable-rookie-season-with-the-dodgers-in-1981-will-live-on-forever/3542160/ |access-date=October 24, 2024 |website=NBC Los Angeles |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="turbow_10262017" /><ref name=":14" /> A display at Dodger Stadium records Valenzuela's pitch count at 147.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Los Angeles Dodgers (Spanish) |date=2021-04-09 |title=A 40 años de la Fernandomanía. |url=https://x.com/LosDodgers/status/1380590918789701638 |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Twitter}}</ref> However, a Spanish-language article on the Dodgers website says Valenzuela threw 146 pitches,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Alonso |first1=Nathalie |last2=Venn |first2=David |date=2021-04-09 |title=Hace 40 años, empezó la Fernandomanía |url=https://www.mlb.com/es/dodgers/news/un-dia-como-hoy-nacio-la-fernandomania |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=MLB.com |language=es}}</ref> and an English-language article on the same website says 147 pitches.<ref name=":17" />}} complete game in a game 3 win over the [[New York Yankees]] in the World Series.<ref name=":9"/> In total, he went 3–1 in the postseason with a 2.21 ERA in {{frac|40|2|3}} innings,<ref>{{cite news|title=Corey Seager can make history for Dodgers this postseason|date=February 25, 2015|work=Fox Sports|url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/corey-seager-can-make-history-for-dodgers-this-postseason|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref> and he helped the Dodgers win their first World Series since [[1965 World Series|1965]].<ref name="odowd_04112021">{{cite news|first1=Peter|last1=O'Dowd|first2=Serena|last2=McMahon|title='Fernandomania' 40 years later: How Fernando Valenzuela captivated baseball fans for decades|date=April 11, 2021|work=WBUR|url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/04/16/fernando-valenzuela-baseball|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref>

Valenzuela achieved this success knowing little English at the time. Scioscia gave some of the credit to Lasorda, who had learned Spanish during his time in the Caribbean [[Winter league baseball|winter leagues]], and "gave him all instructions in Spanish."<ref name=martinez_09192012>{{cite news|first=Hiram|last=Martinez|title=An edge: Spanish-speaking managers|date=September 19, 2012|work=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/OneNation-MLB120919/major-league-managers-speak-spanish-bring-competitive-edge-game|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref> Scioscia also "learned Spanish just so he could communicate with Fernando", according to Lasorda.<ref name="oats_03141985" /> In 1981, the manager strictly [[Platoon system|platooned]] Scioscia and [[Steve Yeager]] at catcher, with Yeager seeing limited playing time with the Dodgers facing only 14 left-handers during the season.<ref name=turbow_10262017>{{cite news|first=Jason|last=Turbow|title=The day Fernando Valenzuela threw 146 pitches in a complete-game victory to rescue the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series|date=October 26, 2017|work=The Athletic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/138584/2017/10/26/the-day-fernando-valenzuela-threw-146-pitches-in-a-complete-game-victory-to-rescue-the-dodgers-in-the-1981-world-series/|url-access=subscription|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref>  In game 3 of the World Series, Valenzuela was struggling when Lasorda substituted Scioscia, with whom the pitcher was more familiar, in place of Yeager, after Yankees left-hander [[Dave Righetti]] had exited the game.<ref name=turbow_10262017/><ref name=oats_03141985>{{cite news|first=Bob|last=Oats|title=Take It From the Grapevine: When Mike Scioscia Talks Now in Any Language, the Dodgers Listen : Time to Catch a Rising Star|date=March 14, 1985|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-14-sp-26694-story.html|access-date=October 23, 2024}}</ref> Lasorda credited Scioscia with steadying Valenzuela.<ref name=oats_03141985/>