The Los Angeles Dodgers will play the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees with heavy hearts, having lost franchise icon Fernando Valenzuela on Tuesday at the age of 63.
However, a fellow Dodgers pitcher—Jack Flaherty—is making sure Valenzuela is not forgotten.
Flaherty, who is scheduled to start Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees' Gerrit Cole Friday, arrived at Dodger Stadium wearing Valenzuela's trademark No. 34 jersey.
Valenzuela pitched for Los Angeles from 1980 to '90, and later worked as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the team from 2003 to '24. He won 141 games for the Dodgers, and helped supercharge the team's popularity with the area's Mexican population.
Dodgers #WorldSeries Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty wore a Fernando Valenzuela jersey to Dodger Stadium ahead of his start 💙 pic.twitter.com/Qda3pOMUFR
— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2024
Flaherty, for his part, is 1–2 with a 7.04 ERA this postseason. The pitcher was born in Burbank, Calif. and attended high school in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles also beat New York in the 1981 World Series—the first in which Valenzuela pitched.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dodgers' Jack Flaherty Dons the Late Fernando Valenzuela's Jersey Before Game 1 Start.
