Quote:
Originally Posted by Caporegime
He was quite the national sensation too from what I recall. After he started 8-0 and had an ERA of 0.something or other, he actually knocked both the Yanks and Mets off the back page of both local NY newspapers, and even grabbed a decent sized blurb on the front page of I think the NY Post, if I recall correctly. No doubt, that pleased George Steinbrenner to no end, who would often go into a jealous rage if the Mets dared to hog up media coverage he thought belonged to him & the Yanks. But for an L.A. Dodger player to steal his press....pfft!
Trust me, before the strike hit on June 12, Fernando mania was very much a nationwide phenomenon. There were seemingly images of him everywhere, especially of him in mid-windup with his eyes looking up to the heavens.
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8-0, 0.50 ERA through his first 8 big league starts in 1981. 8-0 on May 14th! Don't forget he also had 17.2 IP of relief and gave up just two unearned runs in 1980 and went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Also, in his 8th start, he gave up 2 earned runs to the Expos in a CG 3-2 win,
so his season ERA went up from 0.29 to 0.50. So, at that point in his career, he was 10-0, with a 0.40 ERA in 18 G/8 GS and 89.2 IP, with 5.1 H/9, 2.2 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 0.2 HR/9, and a 0.81 WHIP. Wow! Nowhere to go but down I guess. The rest of the way in 1981, he went 5-7 with a 3.66 ERA to finish 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and take home the Cy Young. Cavebutter and his Dodger fan friends must've thought the guy
would never lose a game early in 1981. Fernandomania indeed!