The Main Event
- May 18, 1981 – The Phillies become the first team to defeat Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela, who started his career 8-0. The Phillies beat the Dodgers 4-0 in L.A. and pushed Valenzuela’s ERA to 0.90.
By the time the Philadelphia Phillies took the field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 18, 1981, Fernando Valenzuela was already the most talked-about player in baseball. The young left-hander from Etchohuaquila, Mexico had done something no pitcher had managed since 1945: win his first eight starts, with seven complete games, five shutouts, and just four earned runs allowed over 72 innings, holding opponents to a .172/.225/.212 batting line. His ERA entering that night stood at a barely-believable 0.50.
The national craze known as “Fernandomania” had taken hold almost immediately. The Dodgers’ Spanish radio broadcast ratings on KTNQ had jumped from 3.4 to 8.6. His starts drew large crowds in every city. Eleven of Fernando’s 12 starts at Dodger Stadium in 1981 were sellouts. On the road during his first two years, Valenzuela’s starts drew more than 13,000 more people than other Dodger starters.
The Phillies Crack the Code
On May 18, Philadelphia became the first team to hand Valenzuela a loss, shutting him out by a 4-0 score and bumping his ERA to 0.90. It was the first time all season El Toro had been held without a run of support while the opposing offense touched him for enough to win. Marty Bystrom gave the Phillies seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and two walks to move his record to 3-2 and drop his ERA to 3.40. Ron Reed shutout the Dodgers over the final two innings. The Phillies — defending World Series champions and a hardened veteran squad — had done what nobody else could in the young season: solve the screwball.
Valenzuela’s most prominent and effective pitch was the screwball, which had not been a popular pitch for decades. He was just about the only pitcher in the majors throwing the pitch in his rookie season, which explains why it took opposing batters so long to adjust. The Phillies, with a lineup that included veterans who had faced every variety of pitching over long careers, were among the first to find a way through.
A Rookie Season for the Ages
Despite the loss, Valenzuela’s 1981 season remained one of the most remarkable rookie campaigns in baseball history. He became the first player to win both the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in the same season. He also led all pitchers in complete games (11), shutouts (8), and innings pitched (192.1), and finished fifth in the MVP balloting.
As a 20-year-old rookie, no other pitcher in MLB history has accomplished a 35-inning scoreless streak, an All-Star Game starting assignment, a Cy Young, a Rookie of the Year, and a World Series title all in the same season. His rookie season was capped by winning the deciding game of the 1981 NLCS and a gutsy complete-game effort in Game 3 of the World Series after the Yankees had taken the first two contests.
Valenzuela and the Phillies: A Career-Long Rivalry
The Phillies and Valenzuela would continue to cross paths throughout the 1980s, including some memorable confrontations. Steve Carlton hit a grand slam off Valenzuela to lead the Phillies to a 7-2 win over the Dodgers in one notable meeting, and in a rematch, Valenzuela struck out 15 Phillies while pitching the Dodgers to a three-hit, 1-0 victory. Those duels — Carlton vs. Valenzuela, two of the most dominant left-handers of their generation — were among the great pitching subplots of the early 1980s National League.
The Philadelphia connection ultimately came full circle when Valenzuela’s career wound down. He returned to the Mexican League for the start of 1994, but got another opportunity in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies, who needed injury replacements for their starting rotation. He pitched well, starting seven games and recording a 3.00 ERA until a players’ strike wiped out the remainder of the season. When the Phillies announced that Valenzuela would start the July 4, 1994 Dodgers-Phillies game in Los Angeles, the Dodgers sold nearly 20,000 tickets within a week and recorded a sellout — proof that even a decade-plus removed from Fernandomania, the mere sight of his name on a lineup card still moved tickets.
A Legacy That Transcends Baseball
From 1981 to 1987, Fernando won more games than any other National League starter and had the second-best ERA of NL pitchers with 1,000 innings during that period. For Phillies fans, though, May 18, 1981 carries a particular distinction — the night Philadelphia put the first crack in one of the greatest rookie streaks baseball has ever seen.
Philadelphia Baseball Events for May 18
- May 18, 1912 – The Detroit Tigers use a team of replacement players against the Philadelphia Athletics. With 19 players on strike in protest of the recent suspension of Ty Cobb, manager Hughie Jennings recruits college players and a number of local semipro players to avoid a forfeit and fine. Detroit loses to the Athletics, 24 – 2, as pitcher Al Travers gives up all 24 runs on 26 hits.
- May 18, 1929 – During a doubleheader at Baker Bowl, the Phils and Brooklyn combine for 50 runs. Brooklyn wins game one 20-16, but the Phils take the night-cap 8-6. Chuck Klein gets a home run in both games.
- May 18, 1935 – Bucky Walters of the Philadelphia Phillies shuts out the Chicago Cubs for ten innings and deliveres an RBI single to win the game, 1 – 0.
- May 18, 1964 – Jim Bunning one-hit the Colt .45s in a 4-0 victory at Houston.
- May 18, 1964 – Released third baseman Don Hoak, whose final two MLB seasons (1963-1964) were with the Phillies. He hit .228 in 121 games with Philadelphia.
- May 18, 2000 – Mark McGwire hits three steroid induced home runs as the Cardinals beat the Phillies at the Vet.
- May 18, 2005 – With a home run in the sixth inning, Bobby Abreu tied a team record, with RBI in 10 straight games. He also set a team record with a streak of 11 games with one or more extra base hits.
- May 18, 2018 – Trailing 12-3 in St. Louis, Phillies shortstop Pedro Florimon takes the mound and pitches a 1-2-3 inning. At bat in the next half-inning, he hits a solo home run.
- May 18, 2025 – Pitcher Jose Alvarado is suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Alvarado tested positive for exogenous testosterone, a substance found in weight loss medication. He was also not available for the postseason.
Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for May 18
- Harvey McDonald (born 1898) – His only season in the majors was 1928 when he played in 13 games with the Phillies and hit .250.
- Jack Sanford (born 1929) – After serving in the military he made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 1956 and pitched three seasons for them. He made the NL All-Star team in 1957 and finished with a 19-8, 3.08 mark that season.
- Nelson Figueroa (born 1974) – Came to the Phillies from Arizona in the deal that sent Curt Schilling to the Diamondbacks. In two one-year stints with the Phillies, Figueroa went 6-6 with a 3.83 ERA.
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