Fernando Valenzuela won’t call Dodgers playoff games this year, focusing on health
Longtime Dodgers pitcher and broadcaster didn’t call games for KTNQ during the final two weeks of the regular season, and he’ll miss the remainder of 2024, the team says
Legendary Dodgers pitcher and current team broadcaster Fernando Valenzuela won’t call any of the team’s playoff games this postseason, stepping away for health reasons.
Valenzuela didn’t broadcast any games during the last two weeks of the regular season, which was reported by Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register on September 24. On Monday, David Faitelson of TUDN, a Univision station, reported that Valenzuela was hospitalized.
The Dodgers did not offer any details other than that he was stepping away for the remainder of 2024.
“Fernando Valenzuela has stepped away from the Dodger broadcast booth for the remainder of this year to focus on his health,” the team announced in a statement on Wednesday. “He and his family truly appreciate the love and support of fans as he aims to return for the 2025 season, and they have asked for privacy during this time.”
Valenzuela, 63, has called Dodgers games in Spanish since 2003, currently on KTNQ 1020 AM alongside Pepe Yniquez and José Mota. The legendary pitcher won the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in 1981, and pitched for the Dodgers for 11 of his 17 seasons.
The Dodgers retired Valenzuela’s number 34 in August 2023, which was already out of circulation since he was released during spring training in 1991. He’s one of only two non-Hall of Famers to have their number retired by the Dodgers, along with Jim Gilliam and his number 19.
“He belongs there. It’s just fantastic,” said Jaime Jarrín, the Hall of Famer who is also in the Dodgers ring of honor, said of Valenzuela, his broadcast partner for 20 years back in February 2023. “Now he’ll be there forever.”
