The 2024 World Series gets underway Friday evening, kickstarting a star-studded matchup between two of Major League Baseball's most iconic franchises: the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The first pitch of Game 1 will take place tomorrow evening at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, though viewers will likely notice something extra on the Dodgers' home uniforms.
The Dodgers will be donning circular black patches that read "Fernando 34," in honor of the late Fernando Valenzuela, who passed away from liver cancer Tuesday at the age of 63.
Valenzuela is the lone Dodger to have his number retired by the franchise without also being a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and with good reason.
Debuting in September 1980 at the age of 19, Valenzuela took the league and Los Angeles region by storm in 1981, posting a 13-7 record with a 2.48 ERA across 25 starts in a tantalizing rookie campaign that included eight complete game shutouts.
Valenzuela went on to win both the NL Cy Young Award and NL Rookie of the Year award before leading the Dodgers to a World Series championship, against none other than the Yankees.
Coined "Fernandomania," Valenzuela's sudden emergence as one of baseball's elite pitchers ignited unforeseen excitement among fans in Southern California and throughout Latin America.
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Born in Mexico, Valenzuela emerged as one of the first MLB stars from the country, proving to be incredibly influential to baseball's popularity growth in the region.
Though Valenzuela played for six teams throughout his career, 11 of his 17 MLB seasons were with the Dodgers.
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As of the end of the 2024 season, Valenzuela ranks among the franchise's all-time top 10 rankings in several different statistical categories, including wins, innings pitched, strikeouts and complete game shutouts.
