Fernando Valenzuela, Pitcher Whose Screwballs Eluded Batters, Dies at 63

Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born, left-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who enthralled baseball fans as a 20-year-old in the 1981 season with a quirky windup that produced his signature screwball, died on Tuesday. He was 63.

His death was confirmed in statements by the Dodgers and by Major League Baseball’s commissioner, Robert D. Manfred Jr. No cause of death was given. The team said Valenzuela stepped away from his job as a Dodgers broadcaster earlier this month to focus on his health, and had been planning to return for the 2025 season.

Valenzuela won his first eight starts in spectacular fashion: Five of his victories were shutouts, and seven were complete games. His earned run average was a minuscule 0.50.

“He’s Got the World on a String — And It’s 8-0,” a headline in The Los Angeles Times read.

Valenzuela was somewhat more hittable during the rest of the season, which was broken up by a nearly two-month-long players’ strike. His 13-7 record and 2.48 E.R.A. for the season were enough for him to win the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards, the only player ever to win both in the same year.

He continued to succeed in the 1981 postseason, with a record of 3-1, including a complete game victory in Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees. Although he did not pitch his best — he gave up nine hits and seven walks and threw 146 pitches — Valenzuela helped the Dodgers turn the tide against the Yankees, who had won the first two games. The Dodgers won the next three games to take the series.

When Valenzuela started his windup, he lifted his arms over his head and, as he lowered them to meet his high-kicking right leg, he looked up to the sky. His eyes seemed to roll back in his head, as if in some sort of rapture.