UNLV baseball enjoying ‘Fernandomania’ Part II

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.

Fernando Valenzuela remembers the old man's no-hitter in 1990, and the moves to San Diego and Baltimore left impressions. Flashes of "Fernandomania," though, only come via cable television.

"I saw the special that ESPN did on it," said junior. "It was fun, exciting to watch."

Fernando Valenzuela, a 20-year-old first baseman for UNLV, was born on Sept. 30, 1982, amid the fiesta that his famous father created as a slick southpaw for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For a second consecutive weekend, the elder Valenzuela squirmed and fidgeted as he watched his namesake son play Division-I ball. It was the highest level of baseball that the first rookie Cy Young Award winner has ever attended as a spectator.

The 42-year-old former screwball master has never sat on the other side of the rails of a Major League baseball stadium.

"It's real hard," he said. "Real hard. I could never watch any big league games from the stands. I couldn't see myself sitting in the stands, watching the games. But, you know, I'm proud of my son. It looks different from up here, but I'm enjoying it."

He also enjoys a regular stream of autograph seekers, which continued Sunday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. Senior sits in the back row of the stands behind first base, wearing dark clothes and darker shades.

When kids are finally persuaded by their parents that his is a prized signature, they inch toward him and he politely complies. He makes small talk with many fans, mostly when word of his presence has spread by the latter innings.

The two Valenzuelas do not call themselves Senior and Junior, but they are designated as such here for distinction.

"Early on, the biggest thing was, 'Ohhhh, Fernando's son!' " said junior. "They were more amazed than anything else, as far as a celebrity's son coming out to Little League. But the name hasn't been a burden, really. It's only a burden if you let it be a burden.

"I think it's definitely been a bonus, not necessarily the name but the dad, growing up with him and having him show you little things here and there. Definitely, I wouldn't be playing baseball if it weren't for him."

When senior was 20, he beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series in Dodger Stadium after New York had won the first two games in Yankee Stadium. The Dodgers followed Fernando's heroics by taking the next three to win the championship.

Half of the current Rebels' roster hadn't even been born when Valenzuela altered the momentum of that Fall Classic.

Known as "El Toro," senior turned Dodger Stadium into sombrero heaven in that strike-shortened 1981 season. He won his first eight decisions, and five of those were shutouts. Including his defeat of the Yankees, he was 3-1 in the postseason.

Twenty years ago Wednesday, he became baseball's first player to be rewarded with a $1 million contract in arbitration. A six-time All-Star, Valenzuela's 17-year career ended with stints in San Diego and St. Louis in 1997.

"I'm happy that he likes to play baseball, and that he's combined it with school," senior said of junior. "That's good. He knows the game, and he doesn't like it when someone asks him about me. He says, 'Go ask him.' "

Senior also says -- twice -- to ask junior why he doesn't pitch. Sunday, the 5-foot-11, 220-pound first baseman showed why when he didn't make an out in four trips to the plate against Cal State Fullerton.

He led off the second inning with a solo home run, pulled a double down the right-field line in the fourth, was hit by a pitch in the sixth and drew an intentional walk in the eighth.

Five pitches later, senior catcher Robert VanKirk slammed a ball over the wall in left field for the eventual game-deciding runs in an 8-6 victory.

Valenzuela lifted his batting average to .310, and his second home run as a Rebel helped boost his slugging percentage to .586.

"I (wasn't) a hitter. What can I say?" said senior, who hit .200 and belted 10 homers in his career. "I've just told him to keep swinging the bat, and sooner or later something would happen. I hope this game helps him start swinging better, to help the team.

"But he's enjoying the game and having fun, those are the main things."

For a spell, junior did pitch. When UNLV coach Jim Schlossnagle was Tulane's pitching coach, he saw how Valenzuela spun his breaking ball during a tournament in Phoenix. Halfway through his prep career, though, he stopped pitching.

The wear and tear of playing first base when he wasn't on the mound caught up with him in an international tournament in Mazatlan, Mexico. Rest relieved him of the pain, and since then he has only played first.

Last season, he hit .390, with 20 home runs and 40 doubles, at Glendale (Calif.) Community College, earning a spot in a junior college all-star game.

"We signed him because he's a good player, and we need him to hit," Schlossnagle said. "I feel comfortable with our pitchers, at this point, that we won't need him (to pitch). But you never know."

After Sunday's game, Valenzuela looked across the diamond at the Titans who were packing their gear and was reminded of one of his options out of Glendale. Fullerton is a 40-minute drive from the Valenzuela home, not far from Dodger Stadium.

The Rebels have been to the NCAA Tournament seven times. The Titans have made 24 trips and won three titles, the last in 1995. Fullerton coach George Horton made him a scholarship offer.

"But, you know what? I wanted to be part of something special here," Valenzuela said. "It's a beautiful field and a great city, and the fans showed up over the weekend. It's what I expected."

Infielders Pat Dobson and Eddie Gill, pitcher James Thompson and other Rebels came from junior colleges, like Valenzuela, or transferred from other institutions, and all have immediate expectations.

"It's not going to be a building block this year," Valenzuela said. "We have guys who don't have many years left in college baseball, and we want to win this year. For us, it's all or nothing. We want to get to the College World Series and prove what we can do."

Just like the old man did when he was 20.