LOS ANGELES — From the first spark of “Fernandomania,” Fernando Valenzuela was exceptional. So the Dodgers have made an exception.
Dodgers team president and CEO Stan Kasten announced at Saturday’s FanFest event that the team will retire Valenzuela’s uniform number this season. The ceremony will be the centerpiece of a weekend celebration of “Fernandomania” from August 11-13 when they host the Colorado Rockies.
“I was behind,” said Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, who was by Valenzuela’s side as his translator during the “Fernandomania” days and later when Valenzuela joined the Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcast team. “I am so happy that it is happening. I am very happy, very happy for Fernando.
“I don’t know why they waited. They could have done this several years ago. But anyway, now they are retiring his number. It’s fantastic. That’s great.”
Hall of Fame
The Dodgers waited because of a policy that Kasten said the current ownership group inherited from its predecessors.
The Dodgers have retired the numbers of players or coaches inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, with one exception. Jim Gilliam’s No. 19 was retired after his sudden death in 1978. Gilliam played on four World Series championship teams with the Dodgers and was serving as the team’s first base coach when he died at age 49.
Valenzuela’s number 34 had been unofficially retired since he ended his playing career with the Dodgers after the 1990 season. It was never assigned to another player. He will now become the 12th jersey number officially retired by the Dodgers, joining Gilliam, Pee Wee Reese, Tommy Lasorda, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Don Sutton, Walter Alston, Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson and Don Drysdale. .
“I think it’s going to be great,” Valenzuela said. “I have never been in this kind of situation. I’ve been with the bases loaded but never anything like that.
“I’m probably going to be thinking, ‘Did this happen to me?!’”
legendary career
Valenzuela was part of two World Series championship teams, winning the 1981 National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards. He was a six-time All-Star during his 11 seasons with the Dodgers from 1980 to 1990.
The current ownership group inherited a policy of only retiring the jersey numbers of Hall of Famers, Kasten said. But the fan sentiment made it obvious that Valenzuela needed to be an exception to that rule, he said.
“This has been around for a number of years,” Kasten said, adding that it probably would have been done sooner if it weren’t for the disruption COVID created in the team’s promotional planning. “It has become clear what Fernando means to the fans. Someone asked if he was an exception. I think that’s the best word to describe Fernando’s accomplishments on the field, in the community and his connection to our fan base. Those elements are all exceptional.
“The main thing was the constant clamor I received from the fans. As you know, I go through the stands every night. I get all kinds of comments, some good, some bad. Mostly good. But the question that they ask me the most was about the withdrawal of Fernando’s shirt. That convinced us that this was the right thing to do.
“We had the politics. But at the end of the day, this just made more sense than just sticking to the policy.”
Kasten broke the news to Valenzuela earlier this week, fittingly on the pitcher’s mound at Dodger Stadium. Valenzuela thought he was there to film a promo for the team’s Spanish broadcasts when Kasten told him.
“When they told me, the Dodgers took me by surprise,” Valenzuela said. “Then I realized that I had been waiting for this and now it happened. It’s the best feeling.
“It took me by surprise. I thought they were just kidding. I suppose not.”
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