Dodgers to honor late Fernando Valenzuela with special patch for World Series and 2025 season

The MLB community is still mourning the loss of pitching great Fernando Valenzuela. The Mexican-born sensation died earlier this week at 63 years old. While Valenzuela may no longer be with us, his legacy will live on forever, especially with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

One way that the legend will be honored by the team will take place as early as Friday during the first game of the World Series against the New York Yankees. The Dodgers announced that the team would be donning special patches honoring Fernando Valenzuela.

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The commemorative patch will feature both Valenzuela's last name and his iconic jersey number 34. The patch will not only be worn by the Dodgers during the World Series, but also for the entire 2025 season.

Since news of his death broke, numerous people in the baseball community have shared their sentiments and memories about Valenzuela.

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Valenzuela played 17 seasons in the MLB, with 11 of those coming as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Right from the jump, the dynamic pitcher became a superstar for his club, winning both the National League Cy Young award and Rookie of the Year award in 1981. That season, the then-20-year-old posted a 2.48 ERA with 180 strikeouts over 192.1 innings.

The 2024 World Series will be the first time the Dodgers and Yankees played since Fernando Valenzuela's rookie season

The upcoming heavyweight showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will be the first time that the two iconic franchises have faced off since 1981. This happened to be the same year that Fernando Valenzuela broke onto the scene, helping the Dodgers win the title as a rookie.

It's a shame that Valenzuela will be unable to witness the first matchup between the two clubs since he won his first World Series. That being said, his memory will certainly be present when Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers look to take down Aaron Judge and the Yankees.

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