April 9, 2021
The mystery pitcher began appearing in my morning box scores during the second half of September 1980. Sometimes he was Valenzuela, others Valenzla, but every time I looked, he had zeroes next to his name. I couldn’t find him in my baseball card set, my
Street & Smith’s Official Yearbook 1980, or my
Complete Handbook of Baseball 1980. All I knew was that suddenly he was one of the Dodgers’ most reliable relievers, a rookie thrown into the fire of a three-way NL West race between the Dodgers, Astros, and Reds.
What I didn’t know was that just over six months later, everybody who was anybody would know the name Fernando Valenzuela and the trail of zeroes he left in his wake. Fernandomania was coming.
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HOUSTON The Astros have had their share of Rule 5 Draft successes in the past 50 years, a list that incudes left-handed pitcher Wesley Wright, center fielder Willy Taveras and right-handed pitcher Xavier Hernandez. Those were the outliers.
Most of the players the club has taken in the Rule 5 Draft over the years didn’t reach the Majors or didn’t have much of an impact when they did, which isn’t an unusual outcome for the Rule 5 Draft. Players taken in the Major League phase must remain on that club’s active roster for the entire next season or be offered back to the former club.