The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, assured that the Mexican player, Julio Urías, who plays in the ninth of the Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major Leagues, is following in the footsteps of the historic Mexican Fernando Valenzuela.
«Julio Urías follows in the footsteps of (Fernando) Valenzuela; last night he won a decisive game and drove in the race. It is a pride to be Mexican, “the president wrote on his official Twitter account.
On Saturday, Urías achieved a 9-2 victory with the Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants and thus managed to draw 1-1 in the Major League National League Division Series.
The Mexican of the Dodgers, was proclaimed in early October as champion of triumphs in the Major Leagues, after achieving his 20th victory of the championship.
Urías, 25, became the Dodgers’ first 20-game winner since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and became the fourth Mexican-born pitcher to win 20 games in the majors, joining former Dodger Fernando Valenzuela and Teddy. Higuera, Milwaukee (both in 1986), as well as Esteban Loiaza, of the Chicago White Sox (2003).
Urías was undefeated in his last 17 regular-season starts since June 21, going 11-0 during that stretch that included a Sept. 4 win over the San Francisco Giants at noisy Oracle Park.
Fernando Valenzuela made his major league debut on September 15, 1980 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he achieved the feat of winning the rookie of the year and the Cy Young awards for the best pitcher of the season in his first season.
He was with the Los Angeles club until 1990, with which he completed nine seasons with 10 or more victories, including 1986 when he obtained 21 successes, the most of a Mexican in the majors.
Valenzuela achieved all major league honors, with a World Series title in 1981, a no-hitter or a run in 1990, and six All-Star Game nominations, including 1986 when he struck out five consecutive rivals to tie. Carl Hubell’s record.
After playing for the Dodgers, he went through five other major league clubs, the California Seraphins, the Baltimore Orioles, the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he fired the majors in 1997.
During the week, the Mexican president, also through his Twitter account, had given his forecasts on American baseball where he predicted that the Dodgers will beat the Houston Astros in the World Series.
«Here goes my pool: in the National League, the Dodgers and Milwaukee go to the final; in the American, Astros and Tampa. For the World Series, Dodgers vs. Astros. Champion, Dodgers, ”he wrote. EFE (HN)