Dodgers Dugout: Fernando Valenzuela’s overdue moment is finally here

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. This weekend should be one of the more fun weekends of the Dodgers season.

Since this newsletter began way back in 1802, there has been one issue devoted every season to a particular topic: It’s time for the Dodgers to retire Fernando Valenzuela’s number.

Finally, before this season began, the club announced they would do just that this season.

On Friday, the big day arrives.

As readers who have subscribed since the beginning know, this isn’t my newsletter — it’s our newsletter. I’m just the host who tries to keep things entertaining and informative. However, for this edition, I am going to put on my self-indulgent hat for a little bit. Please forgive me.

Fernando Valenzuela started pitching for the Dodgers at the end of the 1980 season, but he really became famous after his amazing start to the 1981 season. I was attending Carnegie Junior High (what you kids call middle school now) in Carson. To say Fernando captured the imagination of most of the student body is an understatement. The Lakers weren’t quite the big deal they would become later and the Dodgers were the prominent team in L.A.

Somehow, and I don’t remember the impetus for this, I wrote a poem about Fernando (by the way, Fernando is one of those guys you refer to by his first name. Calling him Valenzuela feels wrong). The poem was titled “Fernando, the Great Valenzuela.” The only verse I remember is this:

Fernando, the great Valenzuela
A little boy in Mexico thought baseball might be fun
So Fernando, the great Valenzuela
Started pitching for the Dodgers and now he’s No. 1

That’s Robert Frost- or poet laureate-type stuff. Yes, I know, pretty terrible. But I was 13 at the time. I showed it to a couple of friends, and it quickly seemed everyone in the school had read it. A student band turned it into a song and won the school talent contest. It was published in the end-of-year magazine of the best writing of the year. People (OK, girls) who would never look my way before were suddenly talking to me. Maybe this writing thing was a pretty good path to follow.

Four years later, I was a student at Banning High in Mr. Tattu’s English class. Mr. Tattu is one of the great teachers of all time and every student loved the guy. He had us all write weekly essays on any topic and gave them a score of 1-10. No one had received a 10 in three years. Each Monday, we would rush into the class and look in his grade book to see if anyone got a 10. Week after week passed. No 10’s. One week I wrote an essay about Fernando. It was about the joy of a multicultural experience in the stands during games he pitched.

Students rushed into Mr. Tattu’s class, like usual. Someone got a 10! It was the Fernando essay! And my writing career was confirmed.

So, it’s possible this newsletter wouldn’t exist without Fernando. Now you know who to blame.

Fernando is one of the last Dodgers to have the Koufax-like mystique about him. He didn’t speak much English (though some say he spoke more than was assumed). His personal life, even now, is pretty private. Compare how much we know about Orel Hershiser to Fernando.

The other thing about Fernando: He looked like one of us. He didn’t look like an athlete at all. He looked like a teammate on your slow-pitch softball team. You can identify with that, and let it massage your ego into thinking, “Hey, I could have done that too!”

But Fernando played with the grace of a ballerina. He won one Gold Glove and should have won more. And he could hit, with two Silver Sluggers. He hit .304 in 1990 and finished with a .200 average with 26 doubles, 1 triple and 10 home runs in his career.

Not to mention some of his many great feats with the team:

—He was called up at the end of the 1980 season and had a 0.00 ERA in 17.2 innings, winning two games and saving one. Some Dodger fans will always wonder “What if Fernando started the 1980 playoff game against the Astros?” Even though that wasn’t a real possibility.

—He opened the 1981 season with shutouts in five of his first seven games, giving up only one run in each of his other two starts. That means that in Fernando’s first 80.2 innings in the majors, he had an ERA of 0.22. Two of the shutouts came on three days’ rest.

—He somehow held the Yankees to four runs in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series despite giving up nine hits and seven walks. It was a complete game victory in which he threw almost 150 pitches.

—He finished third in 1982 Cy Young voting after going 19-13 with a 2.87 ERA and 18 complete games in 37 starts.

—In 1986, he went 21-11 with a 3.14 ERA and an astounding 20 complete games in 34 starts. He finished second in Cy Young voting to Mike Scott of the Astros.

—In 1990, he pitched one of the most unlikely no-hitters of all time, as Fernando was past his prime at that point. It was his final season with the Dodgers, who released him in spring training the following season.

And just think of this: If Fernando had started his career in this era, Fernandomania would not exist. He would have never been allowed to pitch one shutout, let alone five in his first seven starts. He probably would have been removed after five innings to protect his arm. And perhaps it would have extended his career, but he wouldn’t be the legend he is today. We’ll never know exactly what would have happened. Let’s be glad we got to experience it.

There’s no way to prove it, but in my mind the three people responsible for creating the most Dodgers fans are Fernando, Jackie Robinson and Vin Scully. You still see Valenzuela jerseys scattered across the fans at Dodgers games.

Fernando’s number will be retired Friday night before the game, and thee Dodgers have been promised as “special guests.” It should be a memorable night, so get there early and give Fernando the applause he has earned.

This weekend:

Friday: Fernando’s number is retired.
Saturday: Fernando bobblehead doll giveaway
Sunday: Fernando 1981 World Series replica ring giveaway

Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is expected to return to the rotation tonight against Colorado. He should provide a rotation boost if he’s at 100% (or even 75%).

Cody Bellinger

Some readers seemed quite angry that I didn’t list Cody Bellinger among the NL MVP candidates, wondering if I had some sort of bias. Not at all. As mentioned in the newsletter, I was going by who the oddsmakers had as their top candidates. Bellinger missed a month of the season with a knee injury, and that hurts his case right now. He has played 83 games this season, while Freddie Freeman has played 113.

However, Bellinger hit .400 in July and is hitting .500 so far in August, and if he keeps up that pace, he will certainly play his way into MVP consideration, especially if the Cubs make the playoffs. Others could play their way in to the race. Keeping track of MVP races is supposed to be the fun part of baseball, not something to get mad about.

Recently

How the Dodgers have fared the last two weeks (through Tuesday):

Batting

Freddie Freeman: .460/.500/.700, 6 doubles, 2 homers, 10 RBIs

Mookie Betts: .385/.478/.795, 4 doubles, 4 homers, 9 RBIs

James Outman: .367/.537/.533, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 6 RBIs

Austin Barnes: .364/.462/.364, 4 for 11, 1 RBI

Kiké Hernández: .317/.341/.537, 6 doubles, 1 homer, 8 RBIs

David Peralta: .276/.258/.414, 4 doubles, 5 RBIs

Amed Rosario: .250/.273/.500, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 9 RBIs

Will Smith: .216/.310/.351, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBIs

Miguel Rojas: .216/.237/.378, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBIs

Chris Taylor: .212/.381/.242, 1 double, 4 RBIs

J.D. Martinez: .200/.273/.300, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs

Max Muncy: .115/.333/.385, 1 double, 2 homers, 6 RBIs

Jason Heyward: .105/.191/.316, 1 double, 1 homer, 3 RBIs

Yonny Hernández: 0 for 1

Team: .282/.364/.477, 34 doubles, 15 homers, 6.08 runs per game

Pitching

Rotation

Julio Urías: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 IP, 7 hits, 2 walks, 10 K’s

Emmet Sheehan: 2.00 ERA, 9 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 K’s, 1 save (includes one relief appearance)

Lance Lynn: 2-0, 2.77 ERA, 13 IP, 9 hits, 3 walks, 13 K’s

Bobby Miller: 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 8.2 IP, 12 hits, 1 walks, 9 K’s

Tony Gonsolin: 2-1, 6.75 ERA, 16 IP, 21 hits, 6 walks, 11 K’s

Michael Grove: 0-1, 9.82 ERA, 7.1 IP, 11 hits, 1 walk, 14 K’s

Bullpen

Joe Kelly: 1-0. 0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 5 K’s

Brusdar Graterol: 0.00 ERA, 5.2 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s

Phil Bickford: 0.00 ERA, 1.2 IP, 1 walk

Ryan Brasier: 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 K’s

Ryan Yarbrough: 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 walks, 3 K’s

Bryan Hudson: 4.50 ERA, 2 IP, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 K

Alex Vesia: 6.35 ERA, 5.2 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 5 K’s

Caleb Ferguson: 7.36 ERA, 3.2 IP, 10 hits, 3 walks, 6 K’s

Evan Phillips: 3 saves, 7.36 ERA, 3.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 K

Tyson Miller: 9.00 ERA, 2 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 K

Miguel Rojas: 9.00 ERA, 1 IP, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 K’s

Yency Almonte: 14.73 ERA: 3.2 IP, 5 hits, 7 walks, 4 K’s

Team: 8-4, 4 saves, 4.37 ERA, 107 IP, 106 hits, 36 walks, 100 K’s

Up next

Thursday: Colorado (*Ty Blach, 1-1, 4.85 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), 7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Friday: Colorado (*Austin Gomber, 9-8, 5.40 ERA) at Dodgers (Lance Lynn, 8-9, 6.11 ERA), 7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Colorado (Peter Lambert, 2-3, 5.57 ERA) at Dodgers (Tony Gonsolin, 7-4, 4.42 ERA), 6:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Colorado (Chris Flexen, 1-5, 7.82 ERA) at Dodgers (*Julio Urías, 9-6, 4.39 ERA), 1:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

The Dodgers are retiring Fernando Valenzuela’s number. Does he have a path to Cooperstown?

Shaikin: Fashion or blasphemy? What are they doing to Dodgers caps?

Dodgers deny Seth Lugo’s claim they were signaling his pitches: ‘Sounds like an excuse’

And finally

Remembering Fernando Valenzuela. Watch and listen here. The Times’ 12-part “Fernandomania at 40” series. Watch and listen here.