For Fernando Valenzuela, a baseball odyssey that began brilliantly with the Dodgers ended sadly in a short, unsatisfying stint with the Cardinals.
Seeking a veteran to temporarily plug an opening in their starting rotation, the Cardinals took a chance on Valenzuela, 36, and acquired him in a six-player trade with the Padres.
The deal, made on June 13, 1997, was a surprise. The Cardinals had approached the Padres about a utility infielder. In talks with his counterpart, Kevin Towers of the Padres, Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty learned Valenzuela was available.
The trade was Valenzuela, infielder Scott Livingstone and outfielder Phil Plantier to the Cardinals for pitchers Danny Jackson and Rich Batchelor and outfielder Mark Sweeney.
The player the Padres wanted most was pitcher Mark Petkovsek, but when Jocketty insisted on pitcher Tim Worrell in return the Padres backed off, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“None of the exchanged players are at the top of their game right now,” Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote.
Valenzuela was the most prominent _ and intriguing _ of the group.
Traveling man
After debuting in the big leagues in 1980 with the Dodgers, Valenzuela made a splash in 1981, winning the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards and creating energy and interest in a strike-marred season.
In 1990, his final year with the Dodgers, Valenzuela pitched a no-hitter against the Cardinals.
After that, he was more journeyman than ace. From 1991-97, Valenzuela pitched for the Angels, Orioles, Phillies and Padres.
His record for the 1997 Padres was 2-8 with a 4.75 ERA.
When Jocketty and Towers began trade discussions, Livingstone and Jackson were the players involved. The Cardinals wanted a backup infielder who batted left-handed. Livingstone, who led the NL in pinch-hits in 1996, fit that need.
The Cardinals needed a starting pitcher to fill in for Donovan Osborne, who was on the disabled list because of a torn groin muscle. When the Padres offered Valenzuela, the Cardinals expanded the deal.
“Fernando was an important part of this,” Jocketty said. “(He) gives us some flexibility. When Donovan gets back, Fernando will go to the bullpen. We feel he’ll be better there than Danny (Jackson) would have been.”
Valenzuela was informed by Padres manager Bruce Bochy of the trade while warming up in the bullpen for a start against the Angels.
“It wasn’t easy to look him in the face,” Bochy said to the Los Angeles Times. “He was shocked.”
Tough stretch
Valenzuela joined the Cardinals in Milwaukee on June 16 and was given a start against the Brewers the next night.
He held the Brewers to two hits _ a Jeff Cirillo single and a Mike Matheny double _ and no runs through five innings.
In the sixth, Valenzuela allowed the first four batters to reach base. All scored. Cirillo led off the inning with a home run. Television replays indicated it was a foul ball. A throwing error by Valenzuela after he fielded a bunt by Jeromy Burnitz aided the Brewers’ comeback. The Brewers won, 4-3, and Valenzuela was the losing pitcher. Boxscore
Valenzuela lost his second Cardinals start _ 3-0 to the Cubs on June 23. Boxscore
In his next start, June 28 versus the Reds, the Cardinals won, 12-6, but Valenzuela didn’t get a decision. He was lifted in the fifth inning with the Cardinals ahead, 10-5. “Sometimes it’s better to give the ball to somebody else who can have better stuff,” Valenzuela said. Boxscore
In his fourth start, July 3 against the Pirates, Valenzuela suffered his third loss with the Cardinals. Boxscore
Manager Tony La Russa decided to give Valenzuela extra rest. Eleven days later, Valenzuela got his fifth Cardinals start. It would be his last.
Time to go
On July 14, against the Reds, Valenzuela yielded three runs, issued six walks and hit a batter before being relieved with two outs in the third. The Reds won, 4-2. Boxscore
“Today was a step backward,” La Russa said.
Said Valenzuela: “It’s hard to pitch when you’re not even close to the plate.”
After five starts for the Cardinals, Valenzuela had an 0-4 record and 5.56 ERA.
Valenzuela was released the next day.
La Russa had asked Valenzuela if he wanted to go on the disabled list, but the pitcher said his arm didn’t hurt.
“He said, ‘I can’t be dishonest,’ ” La Russa told the Post-Dispatch.
Said Jocketty: “Commendable. He’s such a nice man and he’s had such a distinguished career. It’s tough.”
The release brought an end to Valenzuela’s big-league career. In 17 seasons, Valenzuela had a 173-153 record and 3.54 ERA. He pitched more than 200 innings in a season seven times.
RetroSimba 
I never thought the Dodgers used FV well. They got as many innings as they could get out of him and then discarded him. Those seasonal IP totals are insane, and he was essentially washed up at 26 years old!
He would have had a better career under Whitey Herzog and the Cardinals, probably getting 200+ wins. What might have been.
Smart analysis, thanks.
Every player involved in this trade was out of baseball by 1998. Gruaud makes a very good point. From 1981 to 1987 Fernando Valenzuela pitched 1,787 innings. While I can’t be sure, I’m willing to bet that figure is tops among NL pitchers. I say this because from 1981 to 1987 Valenzuela is the only NL pitcher to place among the top 5 in innings pitched during those same years.
Thanks, Phillip. I did a search to find out what Scott Livingstone and Phil Plantier are doing. Livingstone operates a youth baseball academy in Texas. Plantier is a hitting coach in the Marlins system.
Rich Batchelor was the “nothing” the Cardinals got from the Yankees when they gave away Lee Smith to the Yankees for nothing in 1993.
In the Yankees’ farm system in 1993, Rich Batchelor had 25 saves and a 1.43 ERA. He had a league-leading 28 saves for the Cardinals’ Louisville farm club in 1996. That kind of success just didn’t happen for him at the big-league level.