Urias will be first LAD teen-ager to pitch at Dodger Stadium since Fernando

Phil Gurnee ♦ June 7, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

While most of the hoopla has gone out of the fact that the Dodgers have a 19-year-old pitching in their rotation,  it is still an extremely rare event. Just about every time he takes the mound he breaks ground that hasn’t been trod on in decades.

No LAD teen-ager as has pitched at Dodger Stadium since Fernando did it back in Sept of 1980. For those who don’t remember the prelude to Fernandomania, Fernando was a key component in one of the greatest regular season series in the history of the ravine.

The Houston Astros back in the day were in the NL West and held a three game lead on the Dodgers as both teams entered the final series for 1980.   Jon Weisman devotes a chapter of this heralded series in his book  100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die . Also you can find a chapter about Fernandomania. 

It was a three games at home for the Dodgers and they needed to win every game to force a play off game on Monday.

Which they did, with each game bringing a new hero. Garvey / Cey / Ferguson were the offensive hero’s but the unsung hero during this stretch was the teen-aged Fernando who would pitch in relief in two of the three games. Fernando would throw a combined four innings of shutout relief in two one run games. Alas it was all for naught, as Dave Goltz gave away the play off game, but for anyone who was around in 1980, they all remember the epic series that got the Dodgers into that play off game.

Decades ago a LAD Mexican teen-ager stood tall on the mound at Dodger Stadium. I’ll be there tonight hoping the Julio Urias can make Fernando proud as he toes the mound for his start ever at the place he’ll call home for years to come.