Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican genius of the Los Angeles Dodgers who won the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award in 1981 and inspired ‘Fernandomania,’ has died. He was 63 years old.
The team said he died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital but did not give a cause or other details.
His death occurred as the Dodgers prepared to open the World Series at home against the New York Yankees on Friday night.
Valenzuela quit his job as a color commentator on the Dodgers’ Spanish-language TV broadcast in September without explanation. It was reported that he was admitted to the hospital earlier this month. His job kept him a regular at Dodger Stadium, holding court in the press box cafeteria before games and keeping him popular with fans seeking him out for photos and autographs.
Although Valenzuela was not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was one of the most dominant players of his era and a hugely popular figure in the 1980s. However, he is a member of Cooperstown, which has several artifacts, including a signed ball from a 1990 no-hitter.
This is a developing story.
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