Before Shohei, there was Fernando. The baseball world is honoring the passing of one of their greatest, Dodgers pitcher and legend Fernando Valenzuela. “El Toro” as they called him paved the way for a future global superstar like him, Shohei Ohtani.
Back in the 1980s, the Mexican national changed the Dodgers and all of baseball, making it a more diverse sport not just with its players also with its fans. The left-handed, Cy Young-awarded pitcher turned the sport on its head and Fernandomania exploded.
“In a powerful way, Valenzuela began to transform Dodger Stadium into a multi-national, multi-cultural venue,” explained NBC LA’s Ted Chen and Helen Jeong, “paving the way for Asian baseball players as Video Nomo, Chan Ho Park and finally Shohei Ohtani,” detailed Chen and Jeong.
We at ohtanimlb.com want to express our sincere condolences to the Valenzuela and Dodgers family. We lost one of the greatest ever who played the game. Descanse en paz (Rest in peace), El Toro.