Fernando Valenzuela’s cause of death has been revealed — the Los Angeles Dodgers legend died of septic shock. TMZ Sports has obtained the 1981 World Series champion’s death certificate … which listed decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as underlying causes.
Fernando Valenzuela, Pitcher Whose Screwballs Eluded Batters, Dies at 63
The Los Angeles Dodgers star won the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards in 1981, when “Fernandomania” made him a household name and filled ballparks.
Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born left-handed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who enthralled baseball fans as a 20-year-old in the 1981 season with a quirky windup that produced his signature screwball, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 63.
His death, in a hospital, was confirmed in statements by the Dodgers and by Major League Baseball’s commissioner, Rob Manfred. The statements did not cite a cause.
Valenzuela stepped away from his job as a Dodgers broadcaster this month to focus on his health. The team said he had been planning to return for the 2025 season.
Valenzuela won his first eight starts in 1981 in spectacular fashion: Five of his victories were shutouts, and seven were complete games. His earned run average was a minuscule 0.50.
“He’s Got the World on a String — And It’s 8-0,” a headline in The Los Angeles Times read.
Valenzuela was somewhat more hittable during the rest of the season, which was broken up by a nearly two-month-long players’ strike. But his 13-7 record and 2.48 E.R.A. for the season were enough for him to win the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards. He was the only player ever to win both in the same year.
He continued to succeed in the 1981 postseason, with a record of 3-1, including a complete game victory in Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees. Although he did not pitch his best in that game — he gave up nine hits and seven walks and threw 146 pitches — Valenzuela helped the Dodgers turn the tide against the Yankees, who had won the first two games. The Dodgers won the next three games to take the Series.
When Valenzuela started his windup, he lifted his arms over his
head and, as he lowered them to meet his high-kicking right leg, he looked up to the sky. His eyes seemed to roll back in his head, as if in some sort of rapture.
Vin Scully, the Dodgers’ announcer who over 67 seasons watched Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Newcombe pitch, told The Los Angeles Times in 1991 that there was something different about games pitched by Valenzuela a decade earlier.
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