Cal notes: Quakes honor legend Valenzeula

More than any other sport, baseball embraces its past, and in this, the California League's 75th anniversary season, clubs up and down the state have found creative ways to celebrate their own history and the history of the circuit itself.

The Bakersfield Blaze are hosting giveaways for 11 different themed jerseys over the course of the summer. The Visalia Rawhide marked 70 years of pro ball at their treasured home with 70 prizes for fans on May 28. The High Desert Mavericks are offering $7.50 ticket specials for every Sunday home game, or as it's known in Adelanto, for every "75th Anniversary Sunday."

For the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, it was the Cal League's inaugural Hall of Fame class that inspired a look back to the team's roots. Of the 15 inductees, one leaped out to the front office: Fernando Valenzuela. On Saturday, the Quakes honored the legendary Dodgers southpaw with a pregame video and announcement, a plaque presented to his family and bobbleheads for the fans.

Besides being an LA affiliate, Rancho Cucamonga had another, more significant reason to be joyful about Valenzuela's Hall induction.

"We were actually the ones who helped to spur that on," said Mike Lindskog, the club's director of public relations. "If you go back and trace our franchise's roots, we are the Lodi franchise, and we were able to submit any player from our franchise's history. All 10 California League teams had the opportunity to do so, so Fernando was our submission."

After the Salinas Indians folded following the Cal League's first season, the Lodi Crushers came into being for the 1966 campaign and played as such for 19 years. Over the next couple decades, the franchise moved to Ventura County and San Bernardino before settling into a brand new park -- formerly the Epicenter, now LoanMart Field -- in Rancho Cucamonga.

That lineage has been lost on many Quakes fans, but they had the chance to learn about it Saturday.

"It's something we haven't really celebrated a whole lot in the past," Lindskog said. "With the newly formed Cal League Hall of Fame, we had the opportunity to trace our franchise's history. We made it a big deal tonight."

Valenzuela himself couldn't be in attendance because of his position with the Dodgers -- on Saturday, he participated in an Old Timers Game at Chavez Ravine and, a broadcaster for the last 14 years, called LA's 6-1 win over Colorado for SportsNet LA in Spanish -- but his son Fernando Jr. and daughter Maria Valenzuela accepted his plaque on his behalf.

The Quakes recognize that Valenzuela's time in the Cal League was brief. He pitched a total of 24 innings for Lodi as an 18-year-old in 1979, going 1-2 with a 1.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts and 13 walks, but what, after all, was "Fernandomania" if not an outpouring of excitement specifically because Valenzuela blew through the Minors so quickly and seemingly came out of nowhere to earn 1981's National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards? And what Minor League franchise wouldn't want a six-time Major League All-Star and regional hero as part of its heritage?

"We had a tribute to him tonight, not only with the California League Hall of Fame plaque that names him as one of the inaugural members, and obviously the bobbleheads, but we're going to continue to honor him," Lindskog said, adding that the Quakes did consider nominating other players to the Hall, but ultimately had no doubt that Valenzuela deserved the nod.

"Derek Lee has been a guy that's been a staple for us, who we've loved to promote. He was out here last year. He is definitely a worthy candidate, and he garnered consideration, but when you see Fernando Valenzuela on your roster, that makes it kind of an obvious choice."

The other 14 members of the California League Hall of Fame's first class are: George Brett (San Jose, '72), Jose Cruz Jr. (Lancaster, '96), Don Drysdale (Bakersfield, '54), Darin Erstad (Lake Elsinore, '95), Ken Griffey Jr. (San Bernardino, '88), Rickey Henderson (Modesto, '77), Reggie Jackson (Modesto, '66), Sam Lynn (Bakersfield baseball benefactor), Pedro Martinez (Bakersfield, '91), Xavier Nady (Lake Elsinore, 2001-2002; current Storm hitting coach), Vada Pinson (Visalia, '57), Gary Sheffield (Stockton, '87), Bob Talbot (Stockton, '46-'47) and Omar Vizquel (Salinas, '87).

In brief

What in blazes? The Blaze's 16-7 romp at Modesto on Friday night featured a first inning in which Bakersfield had three hits but scored nine runs. The Nuts answered with an oddity of their own: Omar Carrizales and Forrest Wall led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back inside-the-park homers.

Let's due this: The Rawhide's off-the-field roster is growing as GM Jennifer Pendergraft, assistant GM Charlie Saponara, athletic trainer Chad Moeller and catcher Tyler Baker came into July slated to become parents to brand new babies. The team hosted "Red, White and Due" night Friday, giving out onesies and free entry to the first 100 expectant mothers in attendance. As it turned out, a couple of the sources of inspiration for the event didn't keep their families waiting for long.

Congrats to Ast GM Charlie Saponara & Trainer Chad Moeller on their 'little peanuts'-born Friday! #RawhideFamily pic.twitter.com/S0v0hYqaPi

- Visalia Rawhide (@VisaliaRawhide) July 3, 2016

The other 19-year-old Urias: No. 27 Padres prospect Luis Urias entered action July 4 hitting .321, making him the Cal League's active leader in batting average. Urias, who turned 19 on June 3, has been a consistent threat for the Storm all season, but from June 25-July 2, he kicked it up a notch, going 13-for-32 (.406) with multiple hits in six of eight games.