Cy Young Profile: Fernando Valenzuela, 1981

Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  20

1^st season with Dodgers

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’11” Weight: 180 

Prior to 1981:

A native of Navojoa, Mexico, Valenzuela was playing baseball professionally in 1978 at age 17 with the Guanajuato Tuzos of the Mexican Center League where he posted a 5-6 record with a 2.23 ERA and 91 strikeouts. With the league absorbed into the Mexican League in 1979, Valenzuela produced a 10-12 tally for the Yucatan Lions along with a 2.49 ERA and 141 strikeouts. The Dodgers bought his contract in 1980 and he was assigned to Lodi of the Class A California League, where he went 1-2 with a 1.13 ERA before moving up to San Antonio of the Class AA Texas League where he compiled a 13-9 record with a 3.10 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 174 innings pitched. Receiving a late-season call-up to the Dodgers he became a sensation in 10 relief appearances covering 17.2 innings in which he allowed 8 hits and no earned runs while going 2-0 with a save. An injury to LHP Jerry Reuss made Valenzuela the opening day starter in 1981.With a screwball in addition to a fastball, curve, and slider, the stocky 20-year-old utilized a novel pitching motion in which he would look straight up at one point before returning his gaze toward the batter and completing his delivery.

1981 Season Summary

Appeared in 25 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 25

Games Started – 25 [1, tied with Mike Krukow & Mario Soto]

Complete Games – 11 [1]

Wins – 13 [2, tied with Steve Carlton]

Losses – 7 [20, tied with fourteen others]

PCT - .650 [7]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 8 [1]

Innings Pitched – 192.1 [1]

Hits – 140 [15, tied with Tommy Boggs]

Runs – 55

Earned Runs – 53 [16, tied with Mike LaCoss]

Home Runs – 11 [3, tied with eight others]

Bases on Balls – 61 [6, tied with Mario Soto]

Strikeouts – 180 [1]

ERA – 2.48 [7]

Hit Batters – 1

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 4

League-leading complete games were +1 ahead of runners-up Mario Soto & Steve Carlton

League-leading shutouts were +3 ahead of runner-up Bob Knepper

League-leading innings pitched were +2.1 ahead of runner-up Steve Carlton

League-leading strikeouts were +1 ahead of runner-up Steve Carlton

Midseason Snapshot: 9-4, ERA - 2.45, SO - 103 in 110 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 12 (in 8.2 IP) at St. Louis 8/22

10+ strikeout games – 7

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) vs. Montreal 5/14, (in 9 IP) vs. Atlanta 9/17, (in 7 IP) vs. Philadelphia 5/18

Batting

PA – 71, AB – 64, R – 3, H – 16, 2B – 0, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 7, BB – 1, SO – 9, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .250, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 6, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances - 48

Put Outs – 12

Assists – 33

Errors – 3

DP – 2

Pct. - .938

Postseason Pitching: G – 5 (NLDS vs. Houston – 2 G, NLCS vs. Montreal – 2 G, World Series vs. NY Yankees – 1 G)

GS – 5, CG – 2, Record – 3-1, PCT –.750, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 40.2, H – 29, R – 10, ER – 10, HR – 2, BB – 15, SO – 26, ERA – 2.21, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 1 

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

Silver Slugger

All-Star (Started for NL)

5^th in NL MVP voting (90 points, 1 first place vote, 27% share)

NL Cy Young voting:

Fernando Valenzuela, LAD: 70 points – 8 of 24 first place votes, 58% share

Tom Seaver, Cin.: 67 points – 8 first place votes, 56% share

Steve Carlton, Phila.: 50 points – 5 first place votes, 42% share

Nolan Ryan, Hou.: 28 points – 3 first place votes, 23% share

Bruce Sutter, StL.: 1 point – 1% share

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Fernando Valenzuela, LAD: 107 points – 17.5 of 24 first place votes, 89% share

Tim Raines, Mon.: 85 points – 6.5 first place votes, 71% share

Hubie Brooks, NYM: 8.5 points – 7% share

Jason Isringhausen, NYM: 4 points – 3% share

Bruce Berenyi, Cin.: 5 points – 4% share

Juan Bonilla, SD: 5 points – 4% share

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In a season which was interrupted by a players’ strike for nearly two months, the Dodgers went 36-21 in the first half, finishing first in the NL Western Division by a half game over the Cincinnati Reds. In the second season that followed the strike, they were 27-26 to finish fourth in the division, 6 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. Compiling an overall record of 63-47 the pitching staff led the league in complete games (26), shutouts (19 tied with Houston), strikeouts (606), fewest hits allowed (827) & fewest runs allowed (343). With Valenzuela creating an immediate sensation as he won his first eight starts, five of them shutouts, the Dodgers were 33-15 by the end of May, although they cooled off enough to have only the narrowest of leads over the Reds at the time of the strike. “Fernandomania” led to large crowds at Dodger Stadium for his starts. Won NLDS over the Houston Astros, 3 games to 2, overcoming a 2 games-to 0 deficit, helped along by Valenzuela’s win in Game 4. Won NLCS over the Montreal Expos, 3 games to 2, as Valenzuela won the deciding Game 5. Won World Series over the New York Yankees, 4 games to 2, as the Dodgers overcame a 2-games-to-1 deficit which turned on Valenzuela’s tough complete game win in Game 3.

Aftermath of 1981:

The stocky pitcher known as “El Toro” held out for a raise in salary for three weeks in the spring of 1982 and followed up with a 19-13 record, 2.87 ERA, 18 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 199 strikeouts while accumulating 285 innings. He was again an All-Star and placed third in NL Cy Young voting. Valenzuela started off strong in 1983 but tailed off in the second half to finish at 15-10 with a 3.75 ERA and 189 strikeouts. The Dodgers returned to the top of the NL West after falling short in ’82 and “El Toro” won his only start in the NLCS against the Phillies, who went on to win the pennant. LA dropped to fourth in 1984, but while Valenzuela’s ERA was a respectable 3.03 his record dipped to 12-17 with 240 strikeouts in 261 innings pitched as he continued to maintain a heavy workload. The pudgy southpaw rebounded to 17-10 in 1985 as the Dodgers topped the division. Valenzuela’s ERA was 2.45 and he recorded 5 shutouts among his 14 complete games, while striking out 208 batters. The club again dropped in the standings in 1986, but Valenzuela had a solid 21-11 tally with a 3.14 ERA, 20 complete games, and 242 strikeouts. In another down year for the team in 1987, Valenzuela accumulated over 250 innings for the sixth straight year with 251 and topped the NL with 12 complete games, but his record was only 14-14 with a 3.98 ERA and 190 strikeouts. The Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, but Valenzuela played a negligible role in the club’s success. An injured shoulder limited him to 22 starts and a 5-8 tally with a 4.24 ERA. Starting off slowly in 1989, he recovered to finish at 10-13 with a 3.43 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 196.2 innings pitched. The highlight of an otherwise unimpressive 1990 season was a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Overall for the season, he turned in a 13-13 record with a 4.59 ERA and 115 strikeouts over the course of 204 innings. Released by the Dodgers during spring training in 1991, he was picked up by the California Angels during the season but was let go after two winless starts. Signed by Detroit in 1992, his contract was sold to Jalisco of the Mexican League where, following a slow start, he went 10-9 with a 3.86 ERA, ending the season with a two-hit performance. Returning to the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles in 1993, Valenzuela was a respectable 8-10 with a 4.94 ERA and 78 strikeouts over 178.2 innings. Back in Mexico in 1994, he pitched well and saw major league action later with the Phillies. Joining the San Diego Padres in 1995, “El Toro” was a surprising 8-3, although with a high 4.98 ERA. In 1996 he went 13-8 for the division-winning club with a respectable 3.62 ERA. Starting off poorly for the Padres in 1997, Valenzuela was traded to St. Louis, who released him in July, thus ending his major league career at age 36, although he pitched in Mexico and Caribbean winter leagues for several more seasons. For his major league career, Valenzuela compiled a 173-153 record with a 3.54 ERA, 113 complete games, 31 shutouts, and 2074 strikeouts in 2930 innings pitched. With the Dodgers, his record was 141-116 with a 3.31 ERA, 107 complete games, 29 shutouts, and 1759 strikeouts in 2348.2 innings. Pitching in 9 postseason games, he went 5-1 with a 1.98 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. A six-time All-Star, he also received two Silver Sluggers as the NL’s best hitting pitcher (for his career he batted .200 with 10 home runs and 84 RBIs). A good athlete, he was also awarded a Gold Glove for his fielding prowess in 1986. Following his retirement as a player, the jovial Valenzuela became a commentator for Spanish language broadcasts of Dodger games, overcoming years of bitterness over the manner of his release from the team as a player. The Dodgers intend to retire his #34 in 2023. The Mexican League retired his number league-wide in recognition of his raising the profile of Mexican baseball over the course of his career. He also became the league’s commissioner in 2019 and has been inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame and the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.

 

Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.