30 FOR 30: FERNANDO NATION (TV)

Summary

One in this series of sports documentaries presented by ESPN about important people and events from 1979 to 2009.

This film is about Fernando Valenzuela’s recruitment to the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. Valenzuela recounts growing up in rural Mexico and at the age of twelve harboring aspirations of becoming a baseball player. The Dodgers have a complicated history with the Mexican-American community in Los Angeles; Dodgers Stadium was built atop Chavez Ravine, an important Mexican-American neighborhood since the early 20th Century, as it represents one of the few places in which they are permitted to live. In 1950, plans are approved for a housing project on the site, and residents are given vouchers promising them a place in the new development. Some residents protest, and the housing project is never constructed after the head of the Los Angeles housing division is blacklisted under suspicion of being a communist.

In 1955, the Dodgers express a desire to build a new stadium with higher capacity than Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, and the team moves to Los Angeles as part of a business decision by the team management. They decide to build their new stadium in Chavez Ravine and enact eminent domain in order to force the Mexican-American residents out of their homes. The residents resist these attempts to forcibly evict them from their homes, but are unsuccessful and witness their homes being destroyed. The construction of Dodgers Stadium finishes in 1962, and most Mexican-Americans boycott the games there, feeling that the finished stadium represents a grievous injustice against them and their community. As a result, the games are mostly attended by white businessmen and Dodgers fans are thought of as not properly representing the city of Los Angeles. Similarly, Mexican-Americans are excluded, either explicitly or implicitly, from the game in that area.

By the late 1960’s, Mexican-Americans are at the forefront of protest movements throughout the Los Angeles area, calling for an end to discriminatory attitudes and practices, particularly in the school system. They feel that they are not properly represented in society and feel marginalized. In 1971, a peaceful Mexican-American public demonstration is broken up by a violent police action, and many protesters are assaulted, resulting in fatalities and injuries. This incident cripples the equality movement and engenders an attitude of despair amongst Mexican-Americans. Around this time, the Dodgers management becomes interested in attracting Hispanic customers in southern California and believe that if they can recruit a single star Mexican player, that they would be able to accomplish this. In 1979, talents scouts for the Dodgers travel to Mexico and notices Valenzuela, then an extremely gifted teenage pitcher. He is brought in to see the Dodgers management and a deal to sign him is quickly drafted and signed. Valenzuela recalls that his family warned him about playing in Los Angeles, fearing that he would suffer discrimination. He notes that he was happy to be advancing his career but was worried about adjusting to a country with very different ideals and customs.

By 1981, the country is greatly dissatisfied with the worsening economic situation and the government’s response to it. At the same time, the Hispanic population of the United States exceeds ten million, and they become more concerned about being properly represented and protected under the law. Concerns about illegal immigration become more commonplace, and immigration raids take place all over Los Angeles. Some Americans become paranoid that Mexicans are coming to the United States to steal jobs, fueling further conflict and controversy. On April 9th, 1981, Valenzuela starts his first game with the Dodgers against the Astros, on opening day of baseball season. His relatively unkempt appearance and Mexican nationality come as something as a shock to Dodgers fans. However, his highly kinetic and aggressive pitching style proves to be extremely effective, and the crowd warms up to him as he throws a shut-out game.

The next few games, on the road throughout California, prove to be equally successful for Valenzuela. He acquires a winning streak and fans become curious to see how far he can take it. His talent, playful demeanor, and unusual play style quickly make him a fascinating and popular figure not only in Los Angeles, but in baseball in general. Mexican-Americans in southern California are excited to see Valenzuela pitch, and they turn up in record numbers to see him pitch, starting what became known as “Fernandomania.” After his first month with the Dodgers, the team capitalizes on his success and merchandizes his image, selling countless posters, t-shirts, buttons, and other memorabilia. Media interest surrounds Valenzuela as news outlets try to find out everything about him, including tracking down his hometown, the tiny, isolated Mexican village of Etchohuaquila. His family is interviewed; they have no previous experience with news media and learn from them about Valenzuela’s burgeoning international stardom. They listen on the radio as Valenzuela leads the Dodgers to victory against the New York Yankees.

On May 14th, 1981, Valenzuela pitches in a game wherein he gives up a run in the ninth inning, tying the game and putting him in jeopardy of losing his first game with the Dodgers. The Dodgers win in extra innings, and Valenzuela is credited with their success; much of the public acclaim around him seems to be dedicated to keeping up his winning streak. Valenzuela himself is somewhat confused by the “Fernandomania” concept, as he feels that he is unworthy of being the sole focus of Dodgers fandom. His presence on the Dodgers proves to be inspiring for many Latinos, feeling as though he is living proof that they can accomplish the same achievements as anyone else. On June 11th, 1981, there is a baseball player’s strike resulting in several weeks without baseball games. The end of the strike brings Valenzuela back into action, and fans turn out again to see him, hoping that his career would continue on the same ascent as before. Valenzuela himself at the time is not entirely cognizant of the psychologically positive effect he has on the Mexican-American community in southern California.

However, fame presents some problems for Valenzuela: he finds that he no longer enjoys any privacy, and cannot go anywhere without being mobbed by fans. The rapid transition from an unknown to an international star proves to be quite difficult for Valenzuela to mentally process. Once he begins to realize how influential he has become, he decides to try to become a positive role model for children, starting educational programs and speaking at schools about the value of education. The Dodgers reach the 1981 World Series against the Yankees and lose the first two games. Valenzuela performs poorly in the third game, allowing numerous walks. By the end of the third inning, the Yankees lead 4-3, but the Dodgers regain the lead and Valenzuela does not allow any more runs for the rest of the game, thus allowing the Dodgers to win the third game of the World Series. This serves as the turning point of the series as the Dodgers win the next three games in a row, becoming the 1981 World Series Champions. Valenzuela credits his discipline and skill to the influence of his family, explaining that they taught him the value of respect and determination.

By the end of 1981, Valenzuela comes to understand that the Dodgers have profited immensely from his presence despite him receiving the Major League Baseball minimum as salary. In 1982, under the advice of his manager, Valenzuela refuses to arrive for Spring training as a means of getting the Dodgers to give him a pay raise. The ensuing contract dispute turns some public opinion against Valenzuela, calling him “greedy.” The matter is complicated by the conditions of Valenzuela’s work visa, which stipulates that he must play for the Dodgers or be deported. Eventually the Dodgers agree to pay him more, and he has a great second year with the team. At the end of 1982, he is up for salary arbitration and he and his manager are able to negotiate a then-unprecedented salary of one million dollars. He continues to perfect his screwball pitch, an until-then rarely-used pitch which manages to trip up even highly experienced batters. By 1986, Valenzuela sets numerous records in Dodgers history for shut-outs and complete games.

In June 1988, Valenzuela goes on the disabled list for the first time, and many believe that it is due to his him getting worn out from having thrown too many innings. Valenzuela takes some time off to recover, but tragedy strikes when his father dies in July 1988. He feels guilty for not being back home in Mexico when it happens. On July 29th, 1990, Valenzuela pitches a no-hitter at the same time as a no-hit game in Toronto, marking a unique occurrence in baseball history. Valenzuela is released by the Dodgers in March 1991, saddening many Dodgers fans. In 1992, Valenzuela plays for a Mexican League team, Los Charos de Jalisco, where he performs much less effectively than his previous career. In 1993 he is picked up by the Baltimore Orioles, and plays on a succession of Major League teams until his retirement in 1997. His time in baseball does much to change the culture of the sport, but commentators believe that there has never been an equivalent to Valenzuela in terms of the effect he had on capturing the imaginations of baseball fans. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: ESPN
• DATE: October 26, 2010
• RUNNING TIME: 0:53:45
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 114725
• GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries; Sports
• SUBJECT HEADING: TV - Public affairs/documentaries; TV - Sports
• SERIES RUN: ESPN - TV series, 2009-
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Keith Clinkscales … Executive Producer
• John Dahl … Executive Producer
• Joan Lynch … Executive Producer
• Connor Schell … Executive Producer
• Bill Simmons … Executive Producer
• John Skipper … Executive Producer
• John Walsh … Executive Producer
• James Lawler … Producer
• Virgil Price … Producer
• Maria Topete … Producer
• Mark Durand … Producer
• Libby Geist … Producer
• Oscar Hernandez … Associate Producer
• Mike Tollin … Consulting Producer
• Cruz Angeles … Director
• Kate Coe … Researcher
• Daniel Belardinelli … Music by
• Fernando Valenzuela … Interviewee
• Estela Lopez … Interviewee
• Luis Rodriguez … Interviewee
• Mark Langill … Interviewee
• Steve Wulf … Interviewee
• J. Gerardo Lopez … Interviewee
• Dolores Huerta … Interviewee
• Stan Brooks … Interviewee
• Bobby Castillo … Interviewee
• Samuel Regalado … Interviewee
• Bobby Valentine … Interviewee
• Jaime Jarrin … Interviewee
• Mike Brito … Interviewee
• Jimmy Campanis … Interviewee
• Henry Cisneros … Interviewee
• Lionel Sosa … Interviewee
• Paul Haddad … Interviewee
• Dick Moss … Interviewee
• Al Ferrara … Interviewee
• Oscar de la Hoya … Interviewee
• Ray Lara … Interviewee
• Tommy Lasorda … Interviewee
• Mike Scioscia … Interviewee
• Orel Hershier … Interviewee
• Al Campanis
• Bill Currie
• Don Drysdale
• Rosalio Muñoz