Fernando Takes Wing : After Earning Another Chance in the Majors, Former Dodger Sparks Orioles’ Pennant Hopes

BALTIMORE —  It is more Oriolemania than Fernandomania at Camden Yards, but listen closely and you can almost hear the sound of mariachis again in the beat of the capacity crowds.

Davey Lopes has heard the magic on both coasts.

He was the Dodger second baseman in 1981 when Fernando Valenzuela ignited Southern California, Baja California and every ciudad within reach of Jaime Jarrin’s broadcasts.

Now Lopes is a coach with the Orioles as the 32-year-old Valenzuela--yes, 32 and counting--resurrects his big league career after 1991 releases by the Dodgers and Angels, a full season in the Mexican League in ‘92, and repeated rejections when he went searching for a trial last spring.

“The charisma is still there,” Lopes said. “They’re not as loud here as in L.A., but they still get into Fernando. He has that mystique, and he’ll always have it.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have that many like him in the game. He’s been a positive force here.”

A positive force and a positive pitcher. Who would have believed it?

“If anyone other than Fernando thought he could come back, they’re just jumping on the bandwagon now,” Lopes said.

“You have to credit the people here for recognizing the possibilities.”

After making only two major league starts in 1991 and none in ‘92, Valenzuela is 6-7 with a 3.80 earned-run average after 21 starts. Not bad considering the depth of his fall, but not reflective of a recent roll.

Valenzuela was the American League’s pitcher of the month in July, when he was 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts. It was his fourth time as pitcher of the month, but the first time in eight years.

The rebirth of Fernandomania?

“Not really,” said the pitcher they call Freddie. “The Dodgers gave me my chance and I have great memories, but those years are in the past. This is just the second part of my career. My arm is strong again and it’s fun to be back pitching well again. It’s a great city, great fans and a hell of a team. I’m real happy.”

Redemption, then? Valenzuela smiled, but shook his head.

“I’m not trying to show people they were wrong,” he said in English that has improved remarkably since his major league debut at 19. “Some people said I was done, but I don’t listen. I did what I believe. I believe in myself, and that’s why I’m here. If I believe in everything people say and what I read, I’d still be home.”

Instead, before struggling Saturday night against the Cleveland Indians, Valenzuela had a 1.96 ERA in his last seven starts and a 3.00 ERA in his last 12. His 24 2/3 scoreless-innings streak between June 30 and July 10 is the longest in the American League this season, and he became the first Baltimore pitcher since Jim Palmer in 1978 not to give up a run in three consecutive starts.

That dependability, particularly in July when both Mike Mussina, now on the disabled list, and Rick Sutcliffe were struggling, has helped keep the Orioles close in the American League East dogfight.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I feel very comfortable when he’s out there,” Manager John Oates said of Valenzuela. “More importantly, the team feels very comfortable.”

Said Sutcliffe: “With Mussina down, Freddie and I have an opportunity to step back into our pasts and help lead the team to a championship.”

A former Cy Young Award winner like Valenzuela, Sutcliffe, 37, was also a teammate of Valenzuela’s during part of the 1981 season in Los Angeles. Sutcliffe won 16 games last season when the Orioles gave him a chance similar to Valenzuela’s, after surgery and arm problems in his final seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

Traveling a similar route, Valenzuela could now win the comeback-of-the-year award that Sutcliffe received from The Sporting News last year.

“I don’t think people realize how much work goes into it and how much pride you have to swallow,” Sutcliffe said of his and Valenzuela’s decisions to persist when the odds seemed against them.

“I got knocked around in triple-A after my surgery and heard kids say, ‘You’re too old, you’re done, give it up,’ ” Sutcliffe said. “And those were the kind things. I heard a lot worse, but in my mind I wasn’t done, I wasn’t ready to give it up.

“And it’s not a money thing. I’ll never see the money I’m making now. This is my grandchildren’s grandchildren’s money. I just love the game, and I know Fernando does, too. I can only imagine what he went through going back to the Mexican League, but he couldn’t feel better about himself now. I mean, we both have to work twice as hard as when we were younger, but it’s definitely worth it.”

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Valenzuela averaged 33 starts and 234 innings in his 10 full seasons with the Dodgers. Manager Tom Lasorda was criticized at times for often allowing Valenzuela to throw 130 or more pitches, but it was tough to get him off the mound. He fought coming out, completing almost one-third of his 331 starts.

Referring to Valenzuela’s tenacity, Oates said: “Tommy told me that if Valenzuela is right (physically), there’s no one he’d rather have on the mound at the finish.”

Although Valenzuela pitched 196 2/3 innings and 204 innings, going 10-13 and 13-13, respectively, in 1989 and ‘90, a shoulder ailment had begun to erode his effectiveness in ’88. And there were contract problems that compounded the physical questions and ultimately resulted in his release by the Dodgers on the eve of the ’91 season, after most clubs had their rosters filled.

He signed with the Angels that May, worked his way through the farm system on rehabilitation assignments and made two starts for the Angels, getting hammered for nine earned runs and 14 hits in 6 2/3 innings. He was released on July 5, 1991, and spent the rest of the summer playing golf, working out and clearing his mind.

“I rushed myself,” he said of the aborted Angel trial. “My arm wasn’t strong. I wasn’t ready. I needed to spend some time at home, getting away from baseball.”

He had played the game winter and summer, on dirt, grass and synthetic surfaces, since he was a kid. Time to quit?

“Not really,” Valenzuela said. “I wasn’t thinking that way. I still loved baseball. I still felt that if my arm was healthy, I could win games. I never got close to quitting, but that summer at home was what I needed. I felt fresh again.”

With major league clubs sharing doubts about his shoulder, Valenzuela was forced to look again to the Mexican League. He had come full circle. He signed with the Jalisco Charros for the ’92 season, drew capacity crowds at each stop, and threw 156 innings during the summer and another 106 during the winter, physical therapy in itself.

Baltimore scout Fred Uhlman Sr. sent in a positive report on his performance in the Caribbean Series, when Valenzuela faced several big league hitters, but the Orioles didn’t respond immediately.

It wasn’t until nearly the start of spring training, after Valenzuela’s attorney, Dick Moss, who had been thwarted elsewhere, did a selling job on General Manager Roland Hemond. Hemond re-read the Uhlman report, listened to the urging of Moss and club Vice President Frank Robinson, and signed Valenzuela to a non-roster contract.

Said Hemond: “There are not many pitchers who would have gone back to the Mexican League to throw 262 innings summer and winter. He deserved credit. Any man willing to do that deserved the opportunity.”

Moss had thought he had a deal with San Francisco. General Manager Bob Quinn expressed interest, Manager Dusty Baker talked with Valenzuela by phone, and the need was there, but then the Giants backed off, Moss said, adding:

“Baltimore, in some ways, seemed to be an unlikely place for Fernando. He likes to hit and couldn’t in the American League, and he draws people, but Baltimore was already sold out for the year.”

Hemond, however, also had the need, and a fondness for Mexican pitchers and veterans. He employed Salome Barojas, Francisco Barrios and Cecilo Acosta while general manager of the Chicago White Sox, and last year tried to trade for Armando Reynoso, then with the Atlanta Braves. He also had given a similar opportunity to a 45-year-old Palmer in the spring of ’91. Valenzuela, whose exact age is a mystery, was still a babe by comparison.

Said Robinson, who was managing the Giants when Fernandomania hit the National League in ‘81:

“I just remembered Fernando the way he was. I remembered how impressed I was. He was only 19 or 20, but knew how to pitch. I liked the way he handled himself on the mound.

“When I saw his name on the scouting reports again and how he had pitched successfully in the Mexican League, I told Roland we ought to give him some thought. Maybe his arm had come back some. Maybe coming to a new league, he might have a chance to win again.”

Spring training is often an aberration, but Valenzuela pitched well enough to open the season as the Orioles’ fifth starter, knowing that off days in April would hurt his chances for regular work.

He made three April starts for the Orioles and two for the Rochester Red Wings, getting in needed innings. He was 1-5 through eight April and May starts with Baltimore, but then the weather, the schedule and the pitcher began to heat up.

“More games, more innings, more consistency,” Valenzuela said. “The Orioles and Johnny (Oates) have been patient with me. They’ve shown a lot of confidence in me. I haven’t changed anything since the start of the season, but my arm is stronger. I’ve always pitched a lot. The 260 innings in the Mexican League and the four weeks of spring training were very important.”

As were changes in his approach.

“I’ve never had enough velocity to throw the ball over the middle of the plate,” he said. “In the Dodger years, I threw mostly screwballs on the outside part of the plate. I had a curveball, but didn’t throw it much. I had a fastball, but used it away to left-handers. Now I use all my stuff to keep the hitters off balance and I throw to both parts of the plate.”

A key was the development of a cut fastball that moves inside on right-handed hitters, preventing them from leaning over the plate and focusing on the screwball.

Oates said: “Creative pitching. He makes the ball talk. Screwball away, cutter in. Change speeds and location. Another jam shot. Another bat thrown in frustration.”

Said Lopes: “His velocity may be down some and his screwball may not have as much bite, but he compensates with the cutter and experience. He has enough to still be an effective big league pitcher, and he’s pitched a couple of games that he couldn’t have pitched better ever. It’s unfair to expect him to put up numbers like he used to, you just have to admire the way he’s come back. The intangibles are still there. He still has heart.”

Ten years ago, Valenzuela became the first player to receive a $1-million salary in arbitration. He now has a base salary of $250,000. He has earned $200,000 in bonuses based on starts, and can earn $200,000 more. Money was not the issue, Valenzuela said. His love of baseball and his belief in himself was, but he will certainly have a shot at a higher income and a possible return to one of the California teams as a free agent if his current success continues.

Valenzuela, however, said he is content in Baltimore, appreciative of the opportunity. “Sometimes it’s better to get away,” he said, seeming to dismiss the possibility of a return to California.

Besides, 3 million Oriolemaniacs seem a lot like Fernandomaniacs, or as Hemond said: “The one thing here is that attendance stays the same whether he pitches or not. You can’t say we’re exploiting him.”