FERNANDO

 

Fernando.

            FernandoMania!

            Hearing and reading about Fernando Valenzuela’s passing last week, it took me all the way back to when I was the youngest of a baseball fan, to when my love of the game was just beginning to grow. Fernando was one of the first baseball players I got to know and root for, as a kid, who wasn’t a Pittsburgh Pirate. I was seven in 1981. I’d just had my first pack of cards bought for me a year earlier. I was buying more cards and receiving more cards in 1981. My tale of West Virginia woe, anyone? So, by 1981 I was starting to really learn players. But none was more vivid than Fernando Valenzuela.

            I swear I saw him pitch at some point that season on NBC’s Game of the Week.

            I can still feel the hype coming out of my television.

            Apparently, FernandoMania even began on my seventh birthday.

            I was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan for a lot of years because of Fernando Valenzuela.

            The current economics of the game have sort of changed that for me.

            But we’re talking baseball cards here.

            When I was a kid, I kept Fernando’s cards with all of my star cards.

            When I got back into collection in 2019, I did the same thing.

            I’m not a massive collector of Fernando, or anything, but his cards have never found their way into any of my common boxes, supposing you believe in such a thing as a common card. There’s still a slot in my stars/Hall of Famers monster box for him. I was glad to see all of the attention and tributes paid to him. On Facebook I’m friends with quite a number of people in the L.A. area, and the love for and memories of Fernando Valenzuela are still there. He’s a part of, and will always be a part of. Dodgers lore.

            Rest in Peace, Good Sir.

            And thank you.

Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!