He may be 55 years old now, but Fernando Valenzuela is still proving himself to be a national treasure.
The legendary Dodgers pitcher made an appearance at the Dodgers FanFest event on Saturday, taking the stage and throwing some shade at righthander Zack Greinke for leaving the team over the winter, per Dodgers Nation.
Fernando Valenzuela getting ready to hit the stage! #DodgersFF pic.twitter.com/rP58t9E4Dm
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) January 30, 2016
Fernando on Greinke: "a better pitcher wouldn't leave." #DodgersFF
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) January 30, 2016
After three seasons in a Dodgers’ uniform, Greinke signed a six-year, $206.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks in December, despite LA’s attempts to convince the three-time All-Star to re-sign.
Greinke was about as good as they come in 2015, going 19-3 with 200 strikeouts and a league-leading 1.66 ERA. He also finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting and won his second career Gold Glove Award.
But Valenzuela, who was a Dodger the first 11 years of his MLB career, clearly takes a lot of pride in being a part of the organization (he has since returned to the team as their Spanish-language color commentator since 2003). So it’s easy to see why he doesn’t have a lot of respect for those who don’t feel the same way.
It’s too bad, really. Greinkemania was almost a thing.
