Ecchohuaquila (México), 1960

By Pablo Alabarces

The baseball player Fernando “Toro” Valenzuela was born in a modest brick house with a roof made of mud and straw, in a village of 250 inhabitants in the Mexican state of Sonora. A left-handed pitcher, he threw with a wrist motion that spun outward from his body. He became famous for his screwball, which requires a highly refined technique that Valenzuela mastered perfectly. He made his debut with Puebla, a team in the Mexican Baseball League, and in 1979, at just nineteen years old, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in the United States.

It is said that, during his debut, he fell asleep during the usual massage session before the game. After his nap, in his first appearance in the Major Leagues, he became the star of the game. From that moment on, he began a remarkably successful career. With the Dodgers, he won the World Series in 1981, setting a record that same year with eight shutouts (games in which one team does not allow the other to score any runs). It was an incredible moment for Valenzuela: he was named by Sporting News as the best player of the year, the best rookie pitcher, and also won the Cy Young Award for the best pitcher.

That same year, he was invited to participate in the electoral campaign in Mexico, and upon getting married, he received congratulations from then-President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. In 1981 and 1986, he was selected for the National League All-Star team, and in 1981 and 1983, he was chosen for the best batting team. In 1986, he received the Gold Glove Award. In 1991, he transferred to the California Angels, where he played until 1992, when he joined the Mexican team Jalisco. A year later, he was purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, then played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1994, and from 1995 onward, he was with the San Diego Padres, but undoubtedly the peak of his career was in the 1980s. He won 158 games, lost 133, and completed 31 shutouts. Fernando “Toro” Valenzuela retired from Major League Baseball in 2000.

In 2015, he acquired U.S. citizenship. He is a commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Spanish-language radio broadcasts.