Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela has served as a cultural ambassador to Mexican Americans and Mexicans.

LOS ANGELES– For baseball fans, “Fernandomania” marked a flash of pitching genius, the emergence of a unique talent in the history of one of the sport’s most storied franchises.

To Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, Fernando Valenzuela represented something even greater: a beacon of hope, inspiration and pride.

Valenzuela, a Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers, died Tuesday evening at a Los Angeles hospital, the team announced. He was 63 years old.

For some, his death brought back memories of watching the left-hander pitch at home with their parents, not out of love of the sport but because of a surge of Mexican or Latino pride. They reflect on the doors he opened for future generations and the cultural impact he made as a Mexican.

Valenzuela’s rise from humble beginnings as the youngest of 12 children in Mexico and his exploits on the mound have made him extremely popular and influential in the Latino community while helping to attract new fans in Major League Baseball. Their affection for him continued after his retirement.