In a small Mexican indigenous town called Etchohuaquila (etch-oh-wah-kee-yah) came one of MLB’s most accomplished left hand pitchers from the 80’s and early 90’s. Fernando ‘El Toro’ Valenzuela was born on November 1, the youngest of 12. Valenzuela’s parents, Avelino and Maria were poor farmers in Sonora that relied heavily on the help of their 12 children.
By the time Valenzuela was 17 he begin his professional baseball career by signing with the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League. Valenzuela spent several years bouncing around various Mexican leagues before being scouted by the L.A. Dodgers by chance. In 1979 the Dodgers bought out his contract at the time and he became a Dodger in 1980.
Valenzuela became the first and only player as of today to win both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season, the L.A. Dodgers also happened to win the World Series that year too.
Most of Valenzuela’s success came while he was a Dodger peaking from his 1981 season into the 1986 season where during that stretch was named an All-Star. In 1981 the term ‘Fernandomania,’ was coined as the 20 year old dominated his rookie season. Valenzuela’s following seasons weren’t nearly as dominant as his rookie season however, he later took on the nickname El Toro, settling down and establishing himself as one of the leagues best starters.
After retiring Valenzuela returned to L.A. to serve as a broadcaster from 2003 until earlier this year when he stepped away for health concerns. The L.A. Dodgers retired no. 34 last season and his 41.5 career wins above replacement is the highest of any Mexican-born MLB player.
On October 22, at the age of 63 Fernando Valenzuela died at a Los Angeles hospital from liver cancer. Valenzuela was honored by the L.A. Dodgers in a ceremony just before game 1 of their World Series with the New York Yankees over the weekend.
In other sports the Denver Broncos did exactly with they were suppose to do, beat a below average Carolina Panthers team without their starting quarterback.
The game, although closer than it appears was pretty much over at the half when the Broncos led Carolina 21-7. The Broncos added another touchdown in the third and gave up an insignificant one late in the fourth.
Denver’s quarterback Bo Nix had one of his best games as a pro, completing 28 of 37 passes for 284 yards, 3 passing touchdowns and one rushing. Nix threw to 11 different receivers and ended the day with a 124.2 QB rating.
The CU Buffs also won big at home this weekend too. On Saturday the Colorado Buffaloes hosted the Cincinnati Bearcats who were virtually tied with CU in the Big 12 before Saturday’s game. CU struck first with a 3-yard TD pass to Travis Hunter. Cincinnati responded with one of their own. In the end Colorado’s defense turned out to be too much for Cincinnati stopping the Bearcats on several key downs. CU won 34 – 23 over the Bearcats.
