Shortly after Fernando Valenzuela threw what became the final pitch of his short stint with the Cardinals, then manager Tony La Russa wondered if maybe an injury explained any ineffectiveness because he wanted to keep the lefty and his experience, his personality, his competitiveness, his vibe around the clubhouse.
A physical reason would avoid a more difficult transaction.
Valenzuela, as the late Rick Hummel wrote, 鈥渄emurred鈥 at the suggestion.
He did not want the excuse.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 be dishonest,鈥 Valenzuela told La Russa.
One month, five starts, and four losses after the Cardinals acquired him via trade, Valenzuela was placed on waivers following a loss in Cincinnati on July 14, 1997. The Cardinals used the roster spot to promote Eric Ludwick, a pitcher who 17 days later would be dealt to Oakland for Mark McGwire. Valenzuela鈥檚 cameo in Cardinals history was brief but it came at a pivotal time for the club鈥檚 current era 鈥 as it was climbing back to relevance and accumulating players that would define the era 鈥 and were also his final starts in the majors.
The celebrated lefty and Los Angeles Dodgers great who took baseball by force and charm with . His death was confirmed by the Dodgers and Major League Baseball, though no cause was mentioned.
Tributes began immediately.
鈥淗e embodied the very best kind of sports story 鈥 the humble phenom from the countryside, with a style nobody had seen before and a pitch nobody could hit,鈥 baseball writer Tyler Kepner . 鈥淎s the first Mexican superstar for a franchise with a painful history in the Mexican-American community, Valenzuela鈥檚 culture impact was even greater than all he achieved as a pitcher.鈥
As the 120th Fall Classic begins Friday night with Game 1 between the Dodgers and Yankees at Dodger Stadium, the birthplace and epicenter of Fernandomania, memorials and remembrances are planned. , which they retired in 2023.
A September callup the previous year as a teenager, Valenzuela and his screwball stormed into the majors by winning his first eight starts. He had five shutouts in the span, seven complete games, and the only time he didn鈥檛 throw the first and final pitch by a Dodger in his first eight starts was when it took extra innings to defeat the Expos in Montreal. Valenzuela鈥檚 ERA after those eight starts was 0.50. He was a sensation. And he was on his way to winning both the Rookie of the Year award and the Cy Young Award. He led the Dodgers to the NL pennant and won Game 3 of the 1981 World Series to help best the Yankees for the title.
The teams meet again in the World Series this year for the first time since.
In a 17-season major-league career, Valenzuela went 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA in 453 games (424 starts). He spent his first decade with the Dodgers before also pitching for the Angels, Orioles, Phillies, Padres, and ultimately, in June 1997, with the Cardinals.
Some of his most memorable pitches in the majors came against the Cardinals.
His final ones came with them.
鈥淗e鈥檚 had such a terrific career,鈥 La Russa told Hummel on that night in Cincinnati when the Cardinals made the call. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got a terrific reputation because he鈥檚 earned it 鈥 he鈥檚 a winner, a competitor, a team man.鈥
The Cardinals鈥 first look at 鈥淔ernandomania鈥 came June 1981 when the Dodgers visited Busch Stadium II. He struck out nine in seven innings, but LA backed him only with Dusty Baker鈥檚 RBI double off Silvio Martinez in the sixth inning. Bruce Sutter closed out a 2-1 victory for his 11th save of the season. Both of the Cardinals鈥 runs came on George Hendrick鈥檚 homer off Valenzuela in the first inning 鈥 the fourth Cardinal ever to face the young, whirling lefty.
In his career, Valenzuela went 14-12 with a 3.17 ERA in 34 games (all starts) against the Cardinals. .
Earlier in the day, Dave Stewart authored a no-hitter for the Blue Jays, and as he prepared for his start Valenzuela saw news of the feat on the clubhouse television.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 great,鈥 he told teammates, . 鈥淣ow maybe we鈥檒l see another no-hitter.鈥
He performed as he predicted.
Four Cardinals reached base in that 6-0 loss to the lefty. Three did via walk, including Willie McGee in the ninth inning. That was where he started when Pedro Guerrero bounced into a game-ending, no-hitter-bronzing double play. Valenzuela鈥檚 glove nicked Guerrero鈥檚 grounder to slow its progress toward center field and make the double possible.
鈥淒o you think if I don鈥檛 touch that ball it goes through for a single?鈥 he asked.
It was the only no-hitter of his career.
Valenzuela faced the Cardinals twice in the playoffs, once with the Dodgers and then later, in a two-out relief appearance for the Padres in 1996. During the 1985 National League Championship Series, Valenzuela started Game 1 against the 101-win Cardinals in front of 55,270 at Dodger Stadium. He spun 6 1/3 innings, struck out six, and held the Cardinals to one run on seven hits. As the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 4-1, Valenzuela got the win. His next start of the series became legend for how it ended.
After the home team won the first four games of the series, LA had a chance to go up 3-2 and return the NLCS to Dodger Stadium with a Game 5 win. Ozzie Smith upended that plan with his walk-off home run 鈥 what Hummel called a 鈥3,000-to-1鈥 chance in his deadline gamer because it was Smith鈥檚 first career homer from the right side of the plate. The swing, the result, the response at Busch Stadium inspired Jack Buck鈥檚 call that still echoes: 鈥淕o crazy, folks. Go crazy.鈥
Valenzuela started the 鈥淕o Crazy鈥 game.
The game was tied, 2-2, when Valenzuela finished his eight innings and turned the ninth over to Tom Niedenfuer to face switch-hitters McGee and Smith. The Cardinals got two runs against Valenzuela in the first inning, and he danced around a playoff-record eight walks to keep them scoreless after that. Manager Whitey Herzog told Hummel that 鈥渋f you don鈥檛 get to Fernando early, you generally don鈥檛 get him.鈥 They had to get to someone else.
Fast-forward a dozen years and the Cardinals were looking to get someone else.
鈥淲ell, what began as a Cardinals search for a lefthanded-hitting backup infielder and the San Diego Padres鈥 need for a starting pitcher developed into a six-player trade that will bring Valenzuela to 最新杏吧原创,鈥 Mike Eisenbath reported in the June 14, 1997, edition of the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淥n Friday night, as a steady rain drowned the grass at Busch Stadium, Cards general manager Walt Jocketty completed a deal that brought pitcher Valenzuela, infielder Scott Livingston, and outfielder Phil Plantier from the Padres.鈥
The Cardinals sent outfielder Mark Sweeney, pitcher Danny Jackson, and a minor-leaguer, Rich Batchelor, to the Padres in the Flag Day eve deal.
Valenzuela offered the rotation a sub for injured lefty Donovan Osborne.
鈥淔ernando was an important part of this,鈥 Jocketty told Eisenbath. 鈥(La Russa) really liked the idea of getting him. He鈥檚 a fierce competitor. He鈥檚 pitched in the postseason. And he鈥檚 pitched in the bullpen before.鈥
Coach Mark DeJohn handed over his No. 34 to Valenzuela.
The lefty made his debut for the Cardinals on June 17, 1997, in Milwaukee.
Ahead of that start, he spoke with Hummel, whose career covering baseball for the Post-Dispatch earned him a spot at the National Baseball Hall of Fame with other writers who received the BBWAA Career Excellence Award. Hummel wrote that Valenzuela 鈥渉eard the whispers鈥 of doubt.
鈥淲hen you go down, people start talking: 鈥楬e doesn鈥檛 have it anymore,鈥欌 Valenzuela told the writer known as 鈥淭he Commish.鈥 鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 fine to hear something like that. I know what I have and what I can do.鈥
He then touched on his motivation.
鈥淵ou can play this game only once in your life,鈥 he said, at 36. 鈥淚 know this game is going to go sooner or later. When you鈥檙e out of the game, it鈥檚 hard to come back.鈥
Valenzuela pitched five innings and struck out three in his first start for the Cardinals. They lost to the Brewers, 4-3. He would finish the five-start stint 0-4 with a 5.56 ERA and 22 2/3 innings with the Birds on the Bat across his chest. The one win the Cardinals got in a game started by Valenzuela came in Cincinnati on the same night McGee went 4-for-6 with three RBIs to drive a 12-6 rout of the Reds. Two weeks later, the Cardinals returned to Cinergy Field (nee Riverfront Stadium) and, after a few days of extra rest, Valenzuela started again. He was relieved in the third inning after allowing three runs on six walks and two hits in 2 2/3 innings.
He faced 16 batters, the final 16 he鈥檇 face in the majors.
His last pitch went for a single by Hal Morris.
鈥淰alenzuela sat solemnly at his locker and tried to make some order of what had happened,鈥 Hummel wrote in his game story.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to pitch when you鈥檙e not even close to the plate,鈥 the lefty said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty hard to stand what鈥檚 going on. It鈥檚 very disappointing. I鈥檝e had five outings for the Cardinals and I cannot do anything. For some reason, something happens and I don鈥檛 do well.鈥
A roster move was imminent, and that was when La Russa, according to Hummel, contacted Jocketty about the possibility of an injury, saying that Valenzuela appeared to be 鈥渟linging鈥 the ball. Valenzuela declined to accept an injury as a reason, and Jocketty would say that night that the veteran lefty鈥檚 reaction was 鈥渃ommendable.鈥
Valenzuela would pitch again almost a decade later in Mexico鈥檚 winter league went on waivers. But when the Cardinals released him July 15, 1997, it was the final transaction of his big-league career.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of fun all these years,鈥 he told Hummel that night in Cincinnati. 鈥淚鈥檓 not saying I鈥檓 out right now. But I love this game, and it鈥檚 done a lot of good things for me.鈥
And even then it is still less than what he did for the game.
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