This Day In Dodgers History: Fernando Valenzuela Becomes First Rookie To Win Cy Young Award

Fernando Valenzuela made MLB history on Nov. 11, 1981, by becoming the first rookie to ever win the Cy Young Award, edging Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds.

He additionally was named National League Rookie of the Year and took home a Silver Slugger. Mike Piazza, Corey Seager and Valenzuela are the only Dodgers to win Rookie of the Year and a Silver Slugger Award in the same season.

Although the southpaw made his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980, it wasn’t until the following year that he became a phenomenon. The 20-year-old started Opening Day of the 1981 season, which marked the beginning of an impressive streak.

Valenzuela strung together eight consecutive victories (five shutouts) to start the season, which fell one shy of tying Dave Ferris’ Major League record for most starts in a row won by a rookie. Valenzuela pitched to a 0.50 ERA and had 68 strikeouts during that stretch.

He went on to finish the season 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA, 11 complete games, eight shoutouts and led all pitchers with 180 strikeouts. Over 11 seasons with the Dodgers, Valenzuela went 141-116 with a 3.31 ERA.

In his 17-year Major League career Valenzuela won 173 games and yielded a 3.54 ERA. He was a six-time All-Star and part two World Series teams during his tenure with the Dodgers, and was inducted into the Mexican baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.

Valenzuela retired from baseball in 1997 and has spent the past 16 years as a Spanish-language color commentator for the Dodgers.

In November 2018, Valenzuela was among the players named to the inaugural “Legends of Dodger Baseball” class, receiving the honor along with Don Newcombe and Steve Garvey.