Fernando Valenzuela came to Los Angeles at a time when the Mexican-American and the broader Latino community needed a hero. They needed a leader who could represent them and their experience.
The passing of Los Angeles Dodger legend and all-time great Mexican sports figure, Fernando Valenzuela, could not have come at a more politically turbulent time. Waking up to the news of his passing and Donald Trump’s remarks about a “fucking Mexican” seemed oddly appropriate.
In an era where athletes are more comfortable using their popularity to endorse their political views, Fernando Valenzuela exemplified servant leadership and let his actions do the talking. Yes, Fernando Valenzuela was a “fucking Mexican”, but he will forever be an icon of the most American of sports – baseball.
As a child who spent his formative years in both Los Angeles and Mexico City in the early 80s, Fernando Valenzuela was the first sports figure I idolized. But most importantly, he was the first person I saw on television that I could truly identify with.
He was a Mexican who was working hard to gain notoriety in a hyper-competitive world stage (Major League Baseball), he had a Los Angeles connection, he faced adversity, his physical appearance was far from the media-driven image athletes strive for today, and he barely spoke English.
Yet, the images of Dodger stadium going wild for him pitching during the 1981 World Series against the New York Yankees are engrained in my memory. To me, he was larger than life.
Lecciones de management de las estrellas de beisbol mexicanas de todos los tiempos
History can be ironic. Today, the crowds attending a Dodger game are richly diverse and a true representation of the cultural and demographic landscape of the City of Los Angeles; that wasn’t always the case.
When the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, they did so with the economic incentive of building a new state-of-the-art stadium that would be privately financed by then team owner, Walter O’Malley.
What isn’t always noted is that Dodger Stadium was built on what was known as Chavez Ravine (a set of three largely Mexican-American neighborhoods — La Paloma, Bishop, and Palo Verde) which had been the generational home to thousands of Mexican-American and immigrant families.
At that time, it was politically acceptable to displace these families, and while the community opposed their eviction and displacement, their cries fell on deaf ears.
This caused a tremendous backlash toward the Dodger organization from the Mexican-American community. I remember my father’s aunts and cousins saying that they would never support the Dodgers or attend a game at Dodger Stadium because of the displacement that occurred in Chavez Ravine.
That was the prevailing sentiment of the Mexican-American community towards the Dodgers for a very long time. Then came “Fernandomania”.
Fernando Valenzuela came to Los Angeles at a time when the Mexican-American and the broader Latino community needed a hero. They needed a leader who could represent them and their experience.
In the late 70s and 80s, city leadership in Los Angeles was headed by Mayor Tom Bradley. Mayor Bradley did a great job of diversifying the interest of the City and empowering a new (and arguably first) generation of Latino leaders, but he wasn’t Latino, and that mattered.
Now, in a city where Latinos represent a near majority of the electoral vote (the majority of those Latinos being Mexican or of Mexican descent), Latino elected leaders are a standard, but in 1981 they were not.
In what was one of the best pitching seasons for any pitcher, let alone a rookie, Fernando Valenzuela won Rookie of the Year, the Cy Young Award and the World Series against the New York Yankees – the most popular team in baseball and one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
His personality, smile, and quiet demeanor inspired Angelenos of all races and ages to cheer for him in a fanatical way referred to as “Fernandomania”.
This was the first time a Mexican athlete had truly broken into the American mainstream. In the past, Mexican boxers had been headlining attractions (and would continue to be for decades), but a baseball figure from a country where “futbol” is the predominant and most popular sport, was completely unforeseeable.
The ultimate legacy of “Fernandomania” was the Mexican-American community’s forgiveness for the tragic events of Chavez Ravine and a new-found love for “Los Doyers”.
Lo que el pádel me enseñó de las inversiones
When Tommy Lasorda and his scouts found Fernando Valenzuela pitching in dirt fields in northern Mexico, they hoped he would be a decent pitcher. They never imaged that he would become a cultural phenomenon and sports icon. Against all odds, Valenzuela became that, and maybe more importantly, he became a box office draw based on his nationality.
Los Angeles has the second-largest population of Mexican nationals outside of Mexico City – more than Guadalajara and Monterrey. Based on Fernando Valenzuela’s success and the Dodgers’ monetization of his appeal to the Mexican community, including a Mexican player on your team became the new model for box office success.
After Fernando Valenzuela, the Dodgers have attempted the same type of nationality-based appeal with Japanese-Americans and the Asian community through Hideo Nomo and now Shohei Ohtani, to name a few.
That Mexican nationality-based appeal has also been an adapted model in Los Angeles’ Major League Soccer Franchises.
The Los Angeles Galaxy, long before they became an attraction and a team identified with David Beckham, was a team that banked on Mexican stars like Jorge Campos and Luis Hernandez. The Galaxy even recently attempted to reenact this model and failed miserably with Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) was able to achieve initial success on and off the field through Mexican star Carlos Vela. And if Mexicans were good at basketball, I’m sure the Los Angeles Lakers would give one a shot, it would make economic sense to do so.
Fernando Valenzuela’s ultimate moment of glory came early in his career. He peaked in 1981. He would be one of the best pitchers in baseball through the 1980s, but he never again won a World Series. As history would have it, the Dodgers and Yankees face off in a World Series match-up again 43 years later.
The two most popular and richest teams in Major League Baseball will play the first game of the World Series at Dodger Stadium tomorrow, and the memory and spirit of Fernando Valenzuela – a fucking Mexican – will be on display for the world to see.