On June 29, 1990, Fernando Valenzuela walked off the Dodger Stadium mound having done something he’d never done before — and would never do again. Nine complete innings, seven strikeouts, three walks, zero hits allowed. The Cardinals never reached base on a hit. The Dodgers won 6-0 in front of 38,583 fans. But what survived the decades wasn’t the box score. It was Vin Scully’s voice telling Los Angeles to throw their hats to the sky.
He Came In at 5-6 and Left With History
Nothing about Valenzuela’s 1990 numbers hinted at what was coming. He entered that start with a 5-6 record and a 4.09 ERA — a far cry from the force of nature who won both the Cy Young Award and NL Rookie of the Year in 1981, the only pitcher in MLB history to claim both in the same season. It was also his final year with the Dodgers; he’d finish 13-13 with a 4.59 ERA.
But something was different from the first inning. Valenzuela wasn’t overpowering on paper — seven strikeouts and three walks don’t make a highlight-reel gem — but he was sharp when it mattered. Ninety-two pitches to shut out St. Louis. It was also the first no-hitter thrown against the Cardinals since Tom Seaver did it on June 16, 1978.
The Night Baseball Did Something It Hadn’t Done Since 1900
What nobody inside Dodger Stadium knew was that, at the same time, Dave Stewart was throwing his own no-hitter up in Toronto against the Blue Jays. When both games ended, the history books had to be updated: it was the first time since 1900 — the start of the modern era — that two no-hitters happened on the same day in both leagues.
According to reports from the time, Valenzuela had watched Stewart’s no-hitter on the clubhouse TV before his own start and casually told teammates he’d throw one that night too. It wasn’t a public bet, just an offhand remark — but the coincidence stuck.
The final out had its own drama. With Willie McGee on first and one out in the ninth, ex-Dodger Pedro Guerrero hit a grounder up the middle that grazed Valenzuela’s glove and deflected straight to second baseman Juan Samuel. Samuel stepped on second to retire McGee, then fired to first to complete the double play. Clean. Perfect. Done.
Scully, the Sombrero, and What That Line Really Meant
The moment Juan Samuel squeezed the throw, Vin Scully went live for the entire Dodgers broadcast audience:
- «Fernando Valenzuela has pitched a no-hitter at 10:17 in the evening of June 29, 1990. If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!»
Then Scully went quiet and let 38,583 people fill the air.
The line wasn’t an accident. It was Scully — the most important voice in Dodgers history — explicitly acknowledging the bond between Valenzuela and the Latino community of Los Angeles. A connection that had started with Fernandomania in 1981 and found its defining image that June night. In an interview cited by ESPN Deportes, Fernando said that line stayed with him forever.
Valenzuela, born in Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico 🇲🇽, passed away on October 22, 2024, at age 63. In December 2025, the Contemporary Era Committee voted on his Hall of Fame candidacy — he received fewer than five of the twelve votes needed. His next opportunity won’t come before 2031.
In the meantime, No. 34 has been retired at Dodger Stadium since 2023 — and there’s a Vin Scully line that no archive is ever going to erase.
