Fernando Valenzuela, beloved former Dodger known as "El Toro ...

CBS News Los Angeles Live

Fernando Valenzuela, the beloved Dodger pitcher-turned-broadcaster who rose to stardom in the 1980s, is stepping away from the broadcast booth for the rest of the year to focus on his health, the team said in a statement 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," the Los Angeles Dodgers said in a statement posted online.

News outlets had reported in recent days Valenzuela was being hospitalized and was planning to step away from his work as a broadcaster for the L.A. team, including TelevisaUnivision, or TUDN, and the Southern California News Group.

Valenzuela, who was born in the Sonora state of Mexico, spent 11 seasons of his 17-year MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, inspiring what came to be known as "Fernandomania" after joining the team in the 1980 season. In 1981, the Dodgers won the World Series following losses through the two decades prior before nabbing another title with Valenzuela in 1988.

The beloved player's jersey number of 34 was retired last year, solidifying his place in Dodgers history as the twelfth player to receive the honor. The retirement was marked with a special weekend-long celebration of "Fernandomania," kicking off with a ceremony at the Elysian Park stadium where his number was cut into the field's grass, stenciled in white on the back of the mound.

"It's very emotional," he told a room full of English and Spanish-language reporters ahead of the ceremony. "I never expected it."

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela greets the crowd during his jersey retirement ceremony before the baseball game between the Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. Ryan Sun / AP

With the nickname "El Toro," he was known for an unorthodox pitching style, often throwing screwballs with a signature windup and high leg kick prior to almost every pitch. He was also widely credited with popularizing the team, and even the sport itself, among Mexican-American fans.

"He created more baseball fans, and Dodger fans, than any other player," Jaime Jarrín, the former broadcaster who called Dodger games from 1959-2022, said in a Major League Baseball profile. "Thanks to this kid, people fell in love with baseball. Especially within the Mexican community."  

Cruz Angeles, director of a 2010 ESPN documentary on Valenzuela, said the beloved pitcher was particularly inspiring for a certain set of fans during the 1980s, according to the MLB profile.

"For my generation, I'm talking Generation X, the children of Mexican immigrants that grew up in Southern California in the 1980s, he's not a myth, he was a hero. He was the Mexican who made it and was destroying all of the competition," Angeles said. "All fathers wanted their sons to be the next Fernando Valenzuela, and all of us kids would imitate his delivery, looking up to the sky, hands up in the air high and everything. He was one of us, and we wanted to be like him."