The Los Angeles Dodgers will retire former star pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s number 34 pitcher as part of a themed weekend called “Fernandomania” August 11-13.
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“It is a great honor to be part of the group that encompasses so many legends. […] I’m happy for all the supporters and fans who have followed my career.
They will be very excited to know that my number 34 is retiring,” said the man, whose comments were reported by Major League Baseball’s website on Saturday.
No Dodgers player has worn his number since he left the California team in 1990. However, his number was never retired as it is a team policy that only players who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame are eligible to receive that honor.
The only exception to this rule was granted to Number 19 Jim Gilliam, who the Dodgers retired after his sudden death in 1978.
Montreal Expos fans remember the left-hander as the starting pitcher in Game 5 of the 1981 National League Championship Series at the Olympic Stadium.
Valenzuela had pitched eight and two-thirds of the innings, allowing his team to eliminate the Quebec team in their first postseason series appearance in its history.
In 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, the man considered the top Mexican player in the history of the circuit won the prestigious Cy Young trophy three times and played a game without scoring or scoring on June 29, 1990.
Valenzuela played 17 seasons in the major leagues and played 11 seasons (1980 to 1991) for the Dodgers.
He then worked for the California Angels (1991), the Baltimore Orioles (1993), the Philadelphia Phillies (1994), the San Diego Padres (1995 to 1997) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1997).