‘He was our hero in LA’: Mass honors Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela

Though he didn’t know him personally, like many of the fans who attended Wednesday morning’s funeral Mass for Fernando Valenzuela, Luis Dircio of Los Angeles felt impacted by the Dodger great.

“He’s part of L.A. I’m Mexican and he’s Mexican. He gave us hope, that even a Mexican could be something really important,” he said.

“He was our hero in L.A. and he just did a lot for our people,” he said, likening Valenzuela to another Dodgers great, Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Related: Mural honoring late Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela unveiled in Boyle Heights

Close to 300 people were in attendance at Downtown Los Angeles’ iconic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for a solemn service led by Archbishop Jose´ Gomez.

“Fernando was an example to all of us,” he said. “We keep his example in our hearts and in our minds.”

Valenzuela died on Oct. 22 at age 63. A native of Navojoa, Mexico, he began with the Dodgers at age 19, the only pitcher to ever win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards in the same season, in 1981.

After 17 seasons in the majors, he became a broadcaster for the Dodgers in 2003, working for more than 20 years until shortly before his death.

Mike Scioscia, Valenzuela’ Dodger teammate and catcher throughout the 1980s, eulogized his friend at the service.

“I can’t tell you how blessed we were to experience him as a 20-year old,” he said. “He had the heart of a lion.”

Scioscia spoke of Valenzuela’s strength and leadership abilities.

Related: At Max’s in Monrovia, a Dodgers World Series mixed with memories of Fernando Valenzuela

“He had a quiet confidence about him,” he said. “He always felt he was the best in the world, but he’d never tell anyone about it. He would walk out on that mound with all this internal confidence.”

“In our clubhouse we could feel the confidence as he walked through,” he said.

Scioscia noted: “He was a leader on a very veteran team,” despite his young age, highlighting that he was only 20 when he experienced the enormous fanfare that came to be known as Fernandomania.

“He just kept perspective the whole way and just kept pitching, day in and day out,” he said.

Scioscia also cited Valenzuela’s playfulness and sense of humor. In the locker room, he said, he often fiddled with a lasso he had, and when teammates would walk by he would toss the lasso and capture their foot at the ankle.

“He would rope you like he’d a rope a calf,” he said. “I don’t think he ever missed.”

Wednesday’s Mass also included a very teary eulogy from his son, Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., who bears a strong resemblance to his father. He spoke in Spanish.

Related: Photos: Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela as seen through the years

“My dad was a man of little words,” he said. “If you knew him at the beginning, you would think he doesn’t talk at all … But if he was comfortable with you, he would speak with you. Once you got to know him, you couldn’t stop him.”

Valenzuela, Jr., spoke of his father’s generosity.

“If you asked Fernando for an autograph, he would give it to you,” he said. “Even if you didn’t ask him for anything, he’d give you his friendship. But he never asked for anything.”

“He would give you advice, sit with you, tell you stories,” he said. “He loved to joke. Sometimes people would ask him for an autograph and he’d say, ‘It’s not me.’ He was like a child all his life. And he loved to play baseball.”

Fans and friends agreed, some sharing their own thoughts outside before the service.

“I came to say goodbye to him, to a great friend,” said Ricardo Jaramillo of Los Angeles.

“He was a great friend to the whole city of Los Angeles,” he said.

Raoul Chaeres of Long Beach knew Valenzuela personally and considered him his idol.

“He was an example for all the Latinos and a support for the whole community,” he said through an interpreter.

Rev. James Anguiano, homilist for the Mass, shared some thoughts on Valenzuela, whose number 34 was retired by the team.

“Today I wanted to wear my number 34 jersey, but I didn’t think I could fit it under what I’m wearing,” he said.

While he lauded Valenzuela’s baseball accomplishments, he pointed out, “there was so much more to him, so much more that we could all learn from him … We need to recognize who he was as a human being, the goodness that came from him.”

“We thank him for serving as a role model in the Latino community, for inspiring and bringing hope to many people,” he said. “He did so not caring about himself, but caring about others.”

Valenzuela’s son spoke proudly of his father.

“He was always humble with everyone, even his children and grandchildren, everyone he met,” said Valenzuela, Jr.

“He was a great person,” he said. “He always had a smile and now we won’t have that smile.

“But he will always be in our hearts.”

Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer.