Do you hear the drums, Fernando?
Submitted by Robert Daeley on Sun, 2006-07-09 12:34.
Great profile of Fernando Valenzuela — Fernandomania — in the SacBee. Given the Dodgers pitching needs at the moment, I say sign him up again. :)
Batting practice has just started at Dodger Stadium, and from his perch in a radio broadcast booth, Fernando Valenzuela is taking it all in, sunglasses on the edge of his nose.
It has been 25 years since he burst upon the scene, the cherubic left-hander from Mexico with the nearly unhittable screwball uniting a city and captivating not one but two nations.
As he surveys the field and the players milling about on this sultry afternoon, Valenzuela strokes his chin and emits a low laugh.
“It is a long time ago, but it don’t seem that long,” he says, shaking his head. “Twenty-five years? For me, that’s a long time. Many years, but it’s good memories. Good memories. It’s good to remember … “
It sure is.