The news of Fernando Valenzuela’s absence from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcast booth arrived quietly, at the end of a report in the Los Angeles Daily News last week.
Wednesday, the Dodgers confirmed what had been apparent to those who had been close to Valenzuela in recent weeks: the 63-year-old was taking time off to focus on his health.
Neither the team nor those close to Valenzuela have publicly said what the health issue is.
“Fernando Valenzuela has stepped away from the Dodger broadcast booth for the remainder of this year to focus on his health,” the team statement read. “He and his family truly appreciate the love and support of fans as he aims to return for the 2025 season, and they have asked for privacy during this time.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 10: (L-R) Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Fernando Valenzuela and Sandy Koufax look on from the dugout before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium on August 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Valenzuela is stepping away from the Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcast booth to focus on his health.
Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
Valenzuela became a franchise legend as the Dodgers marched to the 1981 World Series. That year, he became the first player in MLB history to be named Rookie of the Year and win a Cy Young Award in the same season.
No Dodger player has worn number 34 since Valenzuela’s last game on the mound; the number was formally retired by the team last year. He ranks among the team’s all-time top 10 in wins, shutouts, strikeouts, games started, and innings pitched.
Over 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, Valenzuela went 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA. Although he never equaled his success as a rookie, Valenzuela made six All-Star teams with the Dodgers and collected a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award along the way.
After 11 seasons (1980-90) electrifying the Mexican American fan base in Los Angeles, Valenzuela went on to pitch for the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals from 1991-97. He continued to pitch in his native Mexico for the better part of the next decade.
A member of the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum, and the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame, Valenzuela has been appearing on Dodgers Spanish-language broadcasts for the last 22 years.
Valenzuela has remained a popular figure in the Los Angeles community since his retirement. Last year, in celebration of Mexican American Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium, he helped Dodger players and staff package and distribute food for more than 400 predominately Mexican American families facing food insecurity in East Los Angeles.
As a result of his continued community involvement, the Reviving Baseball in Innercities Program (RBI) honored him with a Lifetime Achievement award in 2007.
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