Existing comment:
Ball signed by Fernando Valenzuela, 1991
Fernando Valenzuela's meteoric rise in American baseball history drew thousands of Latinas/os to Major League stadiums.
Fernando Valenzuela's surging popularity was quickly dubbed "Fernandomania."
No one could have predicted Fernandomania. Everywhere Fernando Valenzuela went in Los Angeles, pandemonium engulfed the beloved pitcher. According to Jaime JarrÃn, only around 10 percent of fans at Dodger Stadium were Latino before Valenzuela -- today it is nearly half. |