OT: RIP Fernando Valenzuela

[rudedude]

Dodgers great with the funky windup, gone too soon at 63.

 

[RochLion]

63, WTF!!! Wow bad timing.

 

[PSU Mike]

Oh man. I adopted the Dodgers in 1976. I recall in vivid detail his start in 1981, fighting Dad for the York Daily Record sports section the day after his starts (even though they went to print so early you often only got a basic blurb on west coast games). All us kids tried to replicate that screwball from Day 1. R.I.P.

 

[BobPSU92]

It was reported recently that he had stepped away from calling Dodgers games due to illness.

I was a kid growing up in Orange County, CA when Fernandomania hit. It was a huge deal.

R.I.P., Fernando.

 

[OUIrPSU]

First Luis Tiant and now Fernando? Why?

 

[Nits74]

Seems like just yesterday that he burst onto the scene. When the Dodgers were in Pittsburgh and he was scheduled to pitch, I made sure to get a ticket.

I'm old, now I feel ancient.

 

[Catch1lion]

At 3 Rivers Stadium , I remember chatting with Mark Cresse the dodgers bullpen coach during the early Fernando years . Fernando was warming up and we were talking about weightlifting . Mark flipped me a warm up ball . I asked him if Fernando could sign it , and he said he doesn’t sign on game days . Still have that ball among my collectibles . FV was quite the man at the time .