ANALYSIS : Valenzuela Worked Too Hard by Dodgers

In 1985, when Dwight Gooden enjoyed his benchmark season with the Mets, there was only one basis of comparison. His name was Fernando Valenzuela and he had been a most remarkable prodigy four years earlier.

At 20 years, 4 months and 24 days, Gooden was the youngest pitcher of the modern era to start on Opening Day. He was 15 days younger than Valenzuela when Fernando started for the Dodgers in the first game of the 1981 season. At the conclusion of the 1985 campaign, Gooden became the youngest player to receive the Cy Young Award; the youngest previous recipient was Valenzuela. Gooden’s eight shut-outs in ’85 equaled the number amassed by Valenzuela in ’81.

So it was a special occasion when the two were matched at Dodger Stadium on a Friday night in early September, 1985. If it hadn’t been for two factors, New Yorkers might still be talking about the game. But the starting time of the telecast and the duration of the contest (3 hours, 47 minutes) ensured that a decision would not be rendered until 2:25 a.m. in the East. Secondly, much of the media attention was diverted by the confession of Keith Hernandez at a drug trial in Pittsburgh earlier that day and his arrival during the game. Hernandez, in fact, recorded the final putout in the bottom of the 13th inning.

But the duel of titans enticed the largest crowd of the season in Los Angeles. Some of the fans even stayed around long enough to see Gooden complete nine scoreless innings before leaving for a pinch hitter, who happened to be Hernandez. There were considerably fewer in the stands when Valenzuela departed after 12 innings with the score 0-0.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to see a better-pitched game,” Wally Backman said after Darryl Strawberry’s two-run double off Tom Niedenfuer in the 13th gave the Mets a 2-0 victory. I haven’t. Gooden struck out 10 batters and pitched out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam. Valenzuela was masterful in working his way out of trouble.

The manner in which the pitchers were used that night may help to explain why Valenzuela was released by the Dodgers the other day. Gooden never has worked more than 9 2-3 innings in a game. It wasn’t unusual for Fernando to go beyond the call of duty. He pitched a minimum of 251 innings for six consecutive seasons. The streak would have been seven if not for the players’ strike of 1981, a year in which his 192 2-3 innings led the National League. Gooden has exceeded 250 innings in only one season.

Perhaps as a result, the Mets’ pitcher is in the prime of his career. Alas, Valenzuela’s career may be over at 30. And that’s a shame not only for the left-hander but for baseball fans everywhere.