I will continue on to my Hollywood Park in Englewood one more hour.
If you're in the area and you want.
To crack at those World Series tickets, come on down here and sign up.
The deal is.
If you're already here and you've signed up, congratulations. You will find out tomorrow morning at eight a m. They will announce with Tim Kats and Steve Sachs who won the tickets for Friday nights. It's not yeah, well it's not a scam, but you're calling the show a scam.
Yeah, that's what it's called, Okay.
And then tomorrow starting at noon, will be at BJ's Restaurant in brew House in Rancho Kukamoga. Ne Kaletti will be there with me and you are invited to come down there, same drill. All you have to do is sign up and then on Friday morning you'll find out if you won the World Series tickets for Game two. We still have more to give away here charge your Saints tickets and Dodger merch. So if you're in the area,
come on down for the final hour. Top of the show, we talked about the fact that we lost Fernando Aalenzuela last night. Mark Langele is the Dodger historian and he joins the program. Now, Mark, we appreciate you taking the time, Thank you for being here.
It's going to be with you, all right.
Fernando Valenzuela, it's tough to sum it up, and there are so many different things to say, But as the Dodger historian, someone who knows this stuff like the back of his hand, what did Fernando Valenzuela mean to the organization, What did he mean to the city Mount Rushmore.
He's right there alongside Cofax, Drysdale, Jackie Robinson, and he is so special because it's not just that Fernando mania from nineteen eighty one. He is the one that just inspired a generation and he was the one that was the one. The dream of Walter O'Malley was to have a star from Mexico and to be able to have a Latino fan base identify with such a player. Yet
through it all, Fernando never changed. He was always the modest role model, but he knew his place in society in terms of what he had meant to the community. Regular Dodger fans just loved the fact that he led them to a championship but as far as those that weren't necessarily associated with baseball, the pride that they felt somebody from Mexico being a hero and just being a Southern California icon, both sides in terms of he met so much to so many different people.
So we were trying to discuss whether or not that was really the start of the explosion of the popularity amongst Latinos when it came.
To the Dodgers.
He really was sort of the when you look at where they're at now and where they were, it started with him and just continued on, and it's why you've seen the popularity amongst Latinos in this town when it comes to the Dodgers be where it's at at this point in time.
Yet still the only players since nineteen forty five to win his first eight major league starts, and I can remember that eighth victory. At the end of the day in a press conference, somebody actually asked, Fernando, can you go your whole career without losing the game? And HEIMI herein translated and the answer was, Fernando says, it will be difficult, but not impossible. And at that point nobody
doubted that because it was just like the Beatles. It kept building and building and building, and the more people went crazy over this kid from Mexico. He was unflappable. He was like Harpo Marx. He's winking, he's shrugging his shoulders,
he's acting like it's no big deal. And he would do that for the next four years as far as he would, you know, still be that playful person, but never really let on in terms of what it was like to be in the eye of the hurricane, because he just acted like, oh hum, I'll pitch a shut out opening day at my first major league start, and it just went on from there. He just amazed this with his poison control.
Yeah, Mark I said earlier that there was a sense of innocence about him, that he truly was unflappable. And as you look back on the days he pitched it in this city, it just wasn't well, he's starting for the Dodgers tonight, if I remember correctly, on the days he pitched, that was the lead story period across all news media.
Am I right, You're absolutely right, because it was kind of like, just imagine the most famous person flying in for a concert, and a concert is maybe you know, one or two days and then that's it. They leave. It's the same every fourth, every fifth day. It wasn't a baseball game. It was an event. And that was that.
The crowds got bigger and bigger, the expectations got bigger and bigger, and it just was beyond baseball as far as what it meant culturally in Southern California to have this icon from Mexico who is really acting like it's no big deal, and even now think about what's going
to happen on Friday. As far as the tributes to him and Yankee Stadium and everything like that, he would just shrug his shoulders and say why because he never put himself on a pedestal, but he recognized his importance with the community, so he never shirked that responsibility as an ambassador. But not once did you ever have the feeling that he was ever going to tell you how good he was.
When did you know, when did you know this feels different like when it was it? You know, because I mean, I know you mentioned after his eighth start he talked about, well, you know, it could be possible to win every game. But when did you notice that the fan base was really starting to wrap their arms around him and vice versa.
Well, there's the shutout opening days and they go on the road for a couple of games, and then they come back in late April and he shuts out the Giants and that's when it really starts to get crazy. But the other thing you notice, if you're listening to Vince Scully, he had been been behind the microphone since nineteen fifty. He's acting like he's never seen this before. And I think that also helped in terms of wait a second, Vinnie seeing Colfax, Drysdale, Duke Snyder and he's
going crazy over this kid from Mexico. That's really when it lents. As far as you know, Vinnie's going nuts, the fans go going nuts. But meanwhile Fernando is just, ohum, just there's another shout out, there's another win. About two months into the season, he's at a White House reception for the presidents of Mexico and the United States, and just imagine at the White House, they're all lining up for this kid's autograph.
Mark.
Aside from how the fans embraced him and Timmy sort of loved him, his teammates quickly embraced him right.
His teammates adored him. His teammates also wanted to protect him, because Bobby Castillo would say, Hey, I can go out in the town and do whatever I want. The whole world knows who you are. You've got to stay in your hotel room. So the clubhouse was his sanctuary. And so whether it's Hacky Sack, he had a little laugh though. As far as playing games and practical jokes, he savored his teammates, and his teammates recognized that he was all about the team in mad Adiva And to this day.
I was talking to Tom daton Trier this morning, former relief pitcher, that his teammates just loved him behind the scenes for who he was.
Has anybody come close like like Otani? I mean, there's a lot of buzz about Otani. We've talked about, you know, when Manny Wood was here for a short time. But has anybody in your mind in the history of the Dodgers come close to just the Fernando mania, the mania itself when it came to the popularity.
Of him, No, not at all. It was kind of like Joe Hardy and Dan Yankees as far as this person just sort of parachutes in from a small town and you know, in Mexico and does what he does. See, when O'tani comes to the Dodgers, everybody knows who he is. There's no mystery. But when Fernando comes to the Dodgers, it takes a while to do a little bit investigating. And so people go down to Mexico, they discover and they start to learn all these facts, and then everybody's wondering, well,
is this just a one week fluke? Is this a two week fluke? And he ends up leading into the Championship and the irony this week that the only time he was ever in the World Series, he pitched that five to four complete game for the Dodgers when they had lost the first two games at Yankee Stadium. That's
on a Friday night. And now forty three years later, you've got a Friday night with the Yankees, and now it's going to be a tribute to Fernando as far as not only what he meant in that World Series, but Major League Baseball is going to get in on it too, as far as just what he meant to the sport globally.
Mark Langele with us he is the Dodger historian.
Final question, because you have followed the Dodgers as long as you have, but obviously you know LA sports, and we were trying to figure this out earlier. Mark, we said, well, maybe Magic Johnson had made the kind of impression Fernando did. Is there anybody, honestly that has made the kind of impression Fernando Belenzuela did in Los Angeles?
Absolutely not, because you could say Magic Johnson, but they had won the championship ten years earlier with West and Wilton, and you could say hockey. As far as Wayne Gretzky bringing awareness to the sport, but as far as what Fernando meant to people, nobody else is close. I can't even think of the second because the fact that he was from Mexico and affecting the fan base, nobody else could come close.
Who are your favorites? He's got to be out there.
But as far as players to cover, players to watch Dodger players, where does he at? Where is he on your list?
Well?
I'm fifty nine years old, and so I was a tenth grader in high school watching Opening Day nineteen eighty one, and I think anything from your childhood that's the first championship that I ever saw, and those three home games, Games three, four, and five, all decided by one run. Those are the things that you carry as far as those childhood memories.
You know.
And then the Fernando. Later I become a sports writer and cover Fernando's no hitter in nineteen ninety. Whoever thought toward the end of his career he had it in him to throw a no hitter. So he was just an amazing person. And the thing I would tell you, yes, I'm the team historian. He would drive me crazy in terms of not telling me the insight in terms of
what he really felt in those pressure moments. But in the same vein he would spend twenty minutes showing me the pictures of his granddaughters their Halloween costumes for twenty minutes and showing that family side of him. He was a dedicated family man. And so you either knew him as a plan you appreciated his pitching, or if you were in the front office or you met him in the community, you just realized just what a wonderful person he was.
Well, Mark, we appreciate you coming on, thank you for the insight, and thank you for taking the time.
Absolutely, thank you guys.
All Right, Mark Langele, who is the Dodger historian, all right, I just want just for the record, ye know, I went on baseball a reference to follow along with everything he just said.
Okay, guy nailed everywhere, every bit of it. How hell's that happened?
Well, he's the historian.
Okay, I get it.
But like you think you would slip up here there, he had the days of the week, he had the result, the innings, pitched everything.
Right because he is dedicated and committed his life to that.
Okay, I mean, and perhaps that's something you should understand.
Oh, thank you.
I appreciate that.
He, by the way, should be pointed out two times a Silver Slugger Award winner Fernando an Zuela as well, too.
Well, he could hit, I could hack Losorni's used him as a pinch hitter. Yeah, a pitcher would pinch hit. And you know the real I think.
That he's got ten career home runs Fernandola.
Yeah, you know, if you were to looked this up, you know, I think the best pinch hitting pitcher was in baseball history.
Okay, that's not what I'm going to say, although.
He wait, to let everybody down.
Ware you go.
He played for the Red Sox and the Tigers. Do you know who it is?
I don't care.
Okay, the answer is Earl Wilson.
Really hold on, let me see this.
Look up, Look up, Earl Wilson, Pet.
Wilson.
See just see, let me see, let me see. What do you mean? I'm wasting your time.
Gidding what you're giving away prizes? We're doing tributes and shout out.
You know what you're out. I'm sorry you're not winning. Just see, just see, Earl Wilson.
Know you're saying, Oh man, let's be uh efforting when.
We come back efforting.
All right, we still have more to give away except to one person. Come on down in Hollywood Park at Inglewood, Fred Rogan.
And Jonas Scott at thirty five home runs.
On five seventy l A your right.
I mean, what are we doing here? Fred? What are we doing here? We had side and autographs the entire break.
I went to the ATM and the ATM didn't work. Then I went to another ATM and the ATM didn't work.
Well.
See, and we love our friends here at Halloween Park Casino. But if you're at the insundome. You don't have to worry about it.
I'll tell you that right now.
They would just see my face and give me a thousand dollars.
How they do it? Quite worked that way?
Oh okay, anyway, hey, we just heard about this story. Anybody ever been summoned to jury duty? Oh god, yeah, okay, who has served on a jury All right, So one time I got to a summons and the Lakers were.
Way to let oj off by the way, nice job, guys.
Hey, Right, the Lakers were headed to the playoffs and they were playing in the UH late rounds against Portland. Right if they beat Portland a advanced. So I get summoned to jury duty. And it was in San Fernando, and you know the guy. The judge starts by saying, under no circum stances, none can you be excused from jury duty. This is your duty, he said, I, myself, as a judge, have been summoned to jury duty. So if anybody has any reason they shouldn't be on the jury,
you should tell us. And of course my reason was I have to go cover the Lakers in Portland. So we begin the questioning in the morning and people are coming up with all kinds of excuses, and the judge will let no one off, and You're going through the whole jury pool, and I'm thinking to myself, now I'm really gonna get screwed because I got to cover the
Lakers in Portland. So we take a break and the bailiff says, if anybody has anything to say to the judge, you know, you can wait over here during this break. So I go stand off on the side. Now it turns out this is going to be a murder case, all right. So the guy accused of murderer is sitting there with his attorneys and the prosecution is on.
The other side.
So I walk sheepishly down the middle up to the bench and I go, your honor, I have to say something to you. I know what is my duty, and I feel terrible and by all means I would want to serve, but I have a professional hardship and I will not.
I really can't be on the journey.
And the judge says, well, what is your hardship, mister Rogan.
Oh uh oh?
I said, well, your honor, the Lakers in Portland are playing and I.
Need to be there.
And he just gives me this look and he says to the prosecution, do you have any questions for mister Rogan?
That this is a murder trial?
And the prosecuting attorney looks at me and he goes, so, do you think if Shaq plays on the blocks more the Lakers will work the ball inside?
To him?
I said, well, you know, I think that would be a key. Now I'm standing right next to the person accused of murder. He is sitting in the chair directly to my left.
I think he did it. Oh yeah, And.
The defense attorney is sitting there, and he says to the defense attorney, any questions for mister Rogan, go, Jess, I have a question. Do you think if the Lakers play better in transition that they will be able to run past Portland?
And the judge goes, that's enough.
They're spustering your balls at this point.
That's enough from both of you. He says, mister Rogan, you are dismissed. Tell no one about this conversation. Please leave out the side door.
And that was it. I got off the jury.
Were they even playing Portland that night?
No, you know what they were there. But Kevin, you have a story here of someone who's been summoned to jury duty.
Yeah.
So Brandon Aubrey is the kicker for the Dallas Cowboys, and apparently he missed practice today and the designation was jury duty. And now he apparently was on a case.
And by the way, I thought all of this was private.
How'll we even find out what kind of case he would be potentially on. I thought it was supposed to be all confidential. But maybe if he.
Goes public, they'll take him off it automatically.
Well, that's the move.
We all know now that he's on a trial trial jury for a case senator around third degree January strangulation, if I can speak, I.
Was only third degree, big deal exactly.
So apparently the Cowboys attempted to get him off of jury duty, which means they would have gotten them off.
It's Jerry Jones, come on. But he wanted to do it, he.
Said, if he wanted to fulfill a civic duty and he wanted to be a part of the jury.
So that's how much. That's how bad the Cowboys are this year. The kickers.
I'd rather be a jury duty than go out to practice, because kickers don't do anything in practice.
You literally kick, then you just as as a judge in Dallas would they said that will work with Aubrey and his football schedule.
Now, how that.
Works with a trial jury for someone for a strangulation charge. How you work with a juror and his schedule? I have no idea, but apparently this judge in Dallas is going to find the way to make it work.
Yeah.
I got something not that long ago. But there's like this process to where you're given a number. I forget how it worked, Like you're given a number and a section and like you have to call every day to see if your number has been called. And my mind didn't get called, so thankfully I didn't have to go
through it. But yeah, but I've heard people have just been stuck on those things like legitimate trials, and I'm like, you do your duty, and then years later they want to relitigate it and go, no, maybe the Menanda's brothers didn't do it.
You know, it's like like what do we do? Like why did I waste my time years ago?
Do you want to make a documentary?
We gotta make money there, Uh you know.
Jonas, come on, yeah, they're gonna get a cut.
No, Like if you're somebody on the jury do you appear in that documentary you get like your sad card or something.
Like that or what No, no, no, you don't get that sucks. I wonder if Vic the Brick's ever been on a jury. Because we need spirituality and we need to daily hide and provide that. Right now, we welcome on Vic the Brick and Vic, good afternoon.
Feeling you, Dodger fans, Hollywood Park Casino Facts, I'm feeling you.
He's setting everyone up the World Series tickets.
I thought he passed out.
Game one and Game two and Rancho Cucamonga.
He's Fred Rogan. Hello, Vic, and what a great shoe at a great crowd.
HBCU and me y'all. Come on now, Hollywood Park Casino in the house for you the flavor that you.
Crave for, y'all.
He's in for Rodney p today doing a sensational job from two pros and a cup of Joe on Fox Sports Radio, Jay.
Knox Dayoma Puppy.
I'm not sure if Baby Oliver is live in Inglewood today, Kevin Vegas.
He's not twenty one up there, Victim. He is not feeling you. Emagine he's playing Texas older right now.
Baby ohs a good luck. Johnny picked Dodgers in six.
I'm not sure where he stands with the Yankees.
One musical tapestry.
Musical tapestry, taking the Dodgers to the Promised Land.
Ronnie Foscio, he.
Is the Blue Bamboo.
And Ladrigo, it's funny you say, Ladrio, and again Fernando Valezuela so loved not only in Los Angeles but all over the world.
Inspirational. And I met Fernando.
First in nineteen eighty eight when it first came to Los Angeles, and he embraced me. He welcomed me as he welcomed everyone. I mean, you read the story with Bill Plashki when Plaski first covered the Dodgers his first year also, I believe nineteen eighty eight, and Fernando had a playful lasso that he used to use, and he lassoed Bill Plashki when he first saw him to welcome him in. And he welcomed me in as well by saying, you are Victor Brick.
I said, yes, Fernando. He says you're Ela Drio. I said, thank you, Fernando.
I am Eladrio, dubbed by the Great Fernando Valezuela.
What a moment.
American hero, a Dodger god among men. Azul forever icon.
And remember fair.
We talked about Fernando just yesterday, Yes, talked about his mural.
Which was going up in bail Heights.
Il Toro, galvanizer who died Latino fan base in nineteen eighty one. Fernando's journey from his tiny village at Joheophilo in the state of Sonora, Mexico, to Los Angeles. I'm inspiring generations of not just Mexican.
Americans, but everybody.
I mean, there is no Azul without thirty four. His pure vital energy captivated the baseball world and such a scroup all he threw. And then when he wound up and looked up into the heavens. I mean, kids around the world imitated Fernando's wind up and he was a great liberator, liberating the Latino fans to root for the Dodgers. El Toro's impact is beyond profound, but a great void. Not just Los Angeles felt last night when we heard the news, but you know, the whole baseball world.
Anyone who knows.
His story, you know, from that tiny village in Nahiko. Wow, it's it's just uh, it was so impactful and so wonderful. No ego talk about talk about move God, talk about no ego.
Well, he didn't speak Japanese. He didn't speak Japanese.
No ego whatsoever. Just such a beautiful person. We love, We love Fernando always will. Yes, So Dodgers Yankees, you want the X y Z factors of the.
Hey, you want to win a chef burrito playoff taco party, one lucky listener, I'll have a taco chef come to their home. Create Kane is out of tacos and not Joe helmet for twenty people. You try to throw out the Dodgers' face and the Yankees while indulging in delicious Dodgers stadium favorites, all while listening to the game on AM five to seventy LA Sports For the Hey, I want to thank everybody for coming out here to Hollywood
Park today. Great show, great crowd. Don't forget now. If you were here today, be.
Listening eight am tomorrow morning.
Steve Sacks, Tim Kates, Don'll announce who's going to the World Series Game one. If you didn't make it out here today or if you have time on your hands tomorrow going out to Bjas and Rancho Kucamonga will do the exact same thing. Everybody that shows up in Bjay's tomorrow signs up Friday morning will tell you if you won the tickets to Game two of the World Series. All right, we welcome Vic back in and Vic, you know where that leads.
Us to.
Source fread yes.
On a sidebar, celebratory note, my beloved bride, you go, sucker most and myself. Our wedding anniversary is today.
Ride Lacius Grassiers.
Everybody Moss Grassiers.
Oh gods right, you know where that leads is big.
This is the high Cup for Fernando goes something like this, Fernando Dodger icon legend, hero for generations from his tiny village in the state of Sonora in Mexico to us see you dodge electrifying the baseball planets. Viva Fernando, Viva Mexico, Viva Vealezuela. As Vince Scully says, if you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky. Fernando Mania s forever, Fernando Mania, pausi emprey.
We love you, Fernando. I'm feeling you.
Bert, thank you all the folks from our street team and I heard media. Thank you, Dave Weese, appreciate you being down here. Dodger fans, MLB Tonight on MLB Network at your home this world series with live coverage before and after every game with highlights, interviews, expert analysis, and more throughout the Dodgers and.
The Yankees World Series.
Dos at mlbnetwork dot com for the comp programming schedule and to sign up the stream MLB Network twenty four to seven with coverage by Baseball's best analyst, Ronnie Thanks back in the studio, Kevin, appreciate this very much.
Jodahs. Good hanging with you.
Al, thanks for having me. This is a blast. Guys, thank you so much.
Be safe leaving.
We'll talk to you tomorrow.
And Rancho Cucamonga