The Hall of Fame argument for Fernando Valenzuela as Dodgers finally retire his number

Fernandomania is returning to Dodger Stadium for one night on Friday. The Los Angeles Dodgers will officially retire pitcher Fernando Valenzuela's No. 34.

Even though the Dodgers have not issued his number to any other player since he left the team in the early 1990s, it had not officially been retired because he did not meet the Dodgers' requirement for a retired number. Typically the Dodgers only retire numbers of players who spent the bulk of their careers with the club and were enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame (which he is not). 

That, of course, creates the discussion of whether or not Valenzuela deserves a place in Cooperstown, and there is a good argument for his inclusion.

The only path he has for induction at this point is through the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee. That committee meets every three years and votes on eight players who played the majority of their careers through the 1980s or later. Players need 12 out of 16 votes on the committee to be inducted. 

That is how first baseman Fred McGriff was inducted this season. Valenzuela has never appeared on a ballot.

When looking at Valenzuela's career overall, he probably does not have the numbers for induction. Following his initial wave of success through the first six years of his career, his production dramatically regressed. Injuries and overuse early in his career really limited him in his later years and put a huge dent in his overall numbers. 

But there should be (and sometimes are) two paths into the Hall of Fame.

You can have the numbers, or you can have some kind of a profound impact on the game. The latter is where Valenzuela has the best argument.

At his peak between 1981 and 1986, he was legitimately one of the best pitchers in baseball. He won an NL Cy Young Award, finished in the top five three other times and was a six-time All-Star. 

Plus, his impact went far beyond just what he actually did on the mound. His starts were must-see attractions at Dodger stadium, and as the Los Angeles times pointed on Thursday, he dramatically increased the fan base in baseball's second biggest market and had a profound impact on Major League Baseball in Mexico. There is massive value in that sort of effect for the sport. 

There have only been 146 baseball players all time who were born in Mexico, and the overwhelming majority of them were born after 1972. Those players would have grown up at the height of Valenzuela's popularity while he likely would have been a primary source of inspiration. 

Major League Baseball obviously has some appreciation for that as several "Fernandomania" artifacts have made their way through Cooperstown as part of displays. 

The "Fame" part of the title is sometimes just as important as any set of on-field numbers. For the better part of the 1980s, there was nobody in baseball more famous or impactful than Valenzuela.