Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea is a former Mexican-American pitcher in professional baseball. He has played 17 MLB seasons for teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels (Los Angeles Angels), Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.
Fernando Valenzuela was born on November 1, 1960 in Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico. He is the son of poor farmer parents and belongs to the indigenous Mayo ancestry. Valenzuela made his MLB debut for the Dodgers on September 15, 1980. He has won numerous accolades in his baseball career. This includes being a World Series Champion, winner of the NL Cy Young Award and was considered NL Rookie of the Year in 1981. He was the MLB strikeouts leader in 1981. He also is a 2-time Silver Slugger Award Winner in 1981 and 1983. He won the Gold Glove Award in 1986. Furthermore, he was also the NL wins leader in 1986. Fernando Valenzuela has made 6 All-Star game appearances from 1981-1986.
Throughout his career, Valenzuela posted an ERA of 3.54 with 2074 strikeouts, pitched 2930.0 innings and had a WHIP of 1.32. He retired from baseball after the 19997 MLB season. He returned to the Dodgers as a broadcaster in 2003. In 2014, he was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star appearances did Fernando Valenzuela have?
Fernando Valenzuela had appeared in 6 All-Star games from 1981-1986. He represented the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League team.
1981 All-Star game
Fernando Valenzuela made his All-Star game debut in 1981 representing the National League team and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the second rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game and pitched a scoreless first innings and scored two strikeouts.
1982 All-Star game
Fernando Valenzuela played his second game for the National League and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1982 All-Star game.
1983 All-Star game
Fernando Valenzuela made his third All-Star appearance representing the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League team.
1984 All-Star game
Fernando Valenzuela made his fourth All-Star appearance representing the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League team. He struck out Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson and George Brett in the 4th inning of the game.
1985 All-Star game
Fernando Valenzuela made his 5th All-Star game appearance representing the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League team.
1986 All-Star game
Fernando Valenzuela made his 6th and final All-Star game appearance representing the National League team and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He set history by striking out 5 consecutive American League team batters. He tied a record set by Carl Hubbell in 1934.
FAQs
A. Fernando Valenzuela is currently 62 years old.
A. Fernando Valenzuela has scored 2074 strikeouts in his career.
A. Fernando Valenzuela’s nickname is “El Toro” because of his outstanding MLB debut.
A. Fernando Valenzuela attracted large numbers of Latino communities of Los Angeles. The craze surrounding Valenzuela came to be known as “Fernandomania.”
A. Fernando Valenzuela retired from baseball after the 1997 baseball season.
