An international sports phenomenon was born on April 9, 1981, when 20-year-old Fernando Valenzuela - the Dodgers No. 3 starter - took the mound to pitch on Opening Day in place of the injured Jerry Reuss. Valenzuela’s five-hit shutout of the Houston Astros jump-started an epic streak that will probably never be equaled. The numbers for his first eight starts are staggering: eight wins, seven complete games, five shutouts, with a 0.50 ERA. Nicknamed “El Toro” by his fans, Valenzuela became an instant icon, and “Fernandomania” took hold of baseball fans from L.A. to New York and beyond. Armed with a devastating screwball, Valenzuela was named the starting pitcher for the National League at the 1981 All-Star Game, the first of his six appearances. That same year, Valenzuela became the only player in Major League history to win the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Awards in the same season. In the postseason, he became the youngest pitcher to start the first game of a World Series, and helped the Dodgers beat the Yankees for their first World Championship since 1965. He excelled as a batter as well, earning the National League Silver Slugger Award for pitchers in 1981 and 1983. On June 29, 1990, Valenzuela pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Incredibly, it was the second no-hitter that day, after the Oakland A’s Dave Stewart no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s the only time in the modern era that two no-hitters were pitched on the same day.