Fernando Valenzuela's cause of death revealed: What happened to Dodgers legend?
Baseball fans mourned the death of former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela under shrouded circumstances at the age of 63 last month. The cause of his death was revealed on Tuesday after TMZ obtained a copy of his death certificate, which said that Valenzuela had died of septic shock.
The certificate also stated decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as two undelying causes. Fernando Valenzuela had trouble with diabetes during his playing days, besides having other health complications after he had retired, like poorly managed hepatitis.
According to TMZ, the medical examiner also believed that Valenzuela was suffering from a rare brain condition known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the disorder is a “rare, rapidly worsening brain disorder that causes unique changes in brain tissue and affects muscle coordination, thinking, and memory.”
Valenzuela breathed his last on Oct. 22 this year, just three days before the start of the World Series. The Dodgers paid tribute to one of their greatest heroes, with the players wearing the No. 34 on their uniform in all their games during the Fall Classic.
Meanwhile, the death certificate mentioned that Fernando Valenzuela was cremated at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where former Hollywood stars Paul Walker, Carrie Fisher and Brittany Murphy are also buried.
Fernandomania: The legend of Fernando Valenzuela
Fernando Valenzuela played 17 years in the major leagues with six different teams, spending the first 11 seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He enjoyed a remarkable debut season in 1981, winning his first eight starts, including five complete game shutouts. His meteoric rise from obscurity to stardom was dubbed 'Fernandomania' by the media at the time.
That year, Valenzuela became the first rookie pitcher in MLB history to start an All-Star game. He ended the regular season with a 13-7 record and a 2.48 ERA as the Dodgers went to claim the World Series. Valenzuela was named the Rookie of the Year in the National as well as the Cy Young Award winner and remains the only pitcher to win both honors in the same season.
Nicknamed 'El Toro' by fans, Valenzuela was renowned for his distinct pitching motion, looking up at the heavens while going through the windup on his delivery. He was also well-known for his mastery of the screwball, being one of the few hurlers of the modern era to have the pitch in their arsenal.