⚾️ Fernando's first 8 starts. All complete games. 3 earned runs given up.

[underpants]

Link to tweet

[Attilatheblond]

1. Incredible pitcher

My Dodger Blue heart is bluer today.

Via con Dios, Fernando.

[demosincebirth]

3. Imagine, pitching 9 innings?

[Brother Buzz]

7. Imagine BOTH pitchers going 16 innings!

And Willie Mays being relegated to the footnotes with his walk-off-homer in the greatest pitching duel....in history

On July 2, 1963, two baseball legends engaged in one of the greatest pitchers' duels in baseball history.

Juan Marichal vs. Warren Spahn. Hall of Famer vs. Hall of Famer at Candlestick Park.

By the time Marichal and Spahn met on the mound that Tuesday night, they'd already faced off five times in the Major Leagues. But none of those contests were anything like this.

This was a 16-inning thriller in San Francisco, scoreless until the very end, and both Marichal and Spahn went the distance. It is still the last Major League Baseball game where both starters pitched into the 16th inning.

In the end, Marichal's Giants were victorious over Spahn's Milwaukee Braves, 1-0, thanks to the great Willie Mays' walk-off home run off Spahn in the bottom of the 16th inning.

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=196307020SFN

[applegrove]

2. Wasn't he a good hitter too?

[underpants]

5. .205 in 936 MLB at bats. Hit .304 in 1990 69 ABs

https://www.mlb.com/player/fernando-valenzuela-123619

[TwilightZone]

4. One of the best, if not *the* best, starts to a season in any sport

There might be something comparable, but I can't think of anything even close off-hand.

20 years old, brought up from the minors as a reliever.

Had never started a game.

Was told the day before that he was going to start the opener.

Starts 8-0 with 5 shutouts and a 0.50 ERA.

Just insane.

[underpants]

6. No kidding. Opening Day too

The following season, Valenzuela was named the Opening Day starter as a rookie after Jerry Reuss was injured 24 hours before his scheduled start, and Burt Hooton was not ready to fill in. Valenzuela shut out the Houston Astros 2–0.[21]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Valenzuela