Ohtani-mania Versus Fernandomania: Mike Scioscia Compares 2 Dodger Icons
It was a Thursday afternoon on Opening Day in 1981 and the Los Angeles Dodgers sent a 20-year-old lefty to the mound in front of 50,000-plus. Outside of the clubhouse, Fernando Valenzuela was almost unheard of.
By the time Fernando Valenzuela won his eighth consecutive game in May, Fernandomania was in full swing.
“We had some veteran pitchers — Jerry Reuss, Burt Hooton, Bobby Welch. As far as where Fernando was going to be slotted in, you knew he was going to get a chance to start,” Mike Scioscia, the starting catcher on that Dodgers team, told The Messenger’s Christian Red in an exclusive interview. “There was not a buzz, but internally, we knew how good [Valenzuela] could be. We had every bit of confidence in him.”
Forty-three years later, memories of that magical summer run strong. Valenzuela went on to win the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year. The Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the World Series and sombreros were thrown to the sky.
A new kind of mania was born when Shohei Ohtani signed his record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers In December. The difference is that Ohtani hasn’t played a game for the Dodgers yet.
Scioscia, perhaps more than anyone, has seen what both players can do for a fan base. He caught Valenzuela with the Dodgers and was Ohtani’s first Major League manager with the Los Angeles Angels.
“Nobody knew what to expect out of Fernando,” Scioscia told The Messenger. “He just started to show how talented he was. The energy at Dodger Stadium was incredible when Fernando was pitching. Everything was aligned to where you had a pitcher from Mexico that was so talented, and he came and just took, not only Southern California, but all the baseball world by storm.”
Ohtani’s expectations as a first-year Dodger are slightly different. He has already shown the world his talent and he won’t be pitching in 2024 as recovers from surgery. While both men were and are incredible on the mound, they were and are both tough outs in the box.
When Valenzuela played, pitchers typically occupied the No. 9 spot in the batting order. He had 187 hits in 1,044 career plate appearances over 17 seasons and struck out a total of just 145 times.
Ohtani was limited when he first arrived in Anaheim. The Angels put restrictions on him so that he wouldn’t be overused. Since those restrictions were lifted in 2021, he is batting .278 with 449 hits, 124 home runs, 290 runs batted in, 295 runs scored and 57 stolen bases in 450 games.
Fans are anxiously awaiting the beginning of spring despite Ohtani not taking the mound. In just a few weeks, Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., will get its first glimpse of No. 17 in Dodger blue and baseball will have an idea of just how big Ohtanimania might be.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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