Tributes poured in from around the baseball community Tuesday in response to news of Fernando Valenzuela’s death at age 63.
The news of Fernando Valenzuela’s death at age 63 on Tuesday sent shockwaves through the baseball community.
Valenzuela, who united Los Angeles’ Mexican American community with his heroics on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1980s, was 63. No cause of death was immediately announced.
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As a 20-year-old in 1981, Valenzuela threw complete games in each of his first eight starts in 1981; five were shutouts. He finished the season 13-7 with a league-leading 180 strikeouts in 192.1 innings.
The Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the World Series that October, a matchup that will be reprised Friday at Dodger Stadium.
