The best shortened-season performances including Jerry Rice in 1987
The NBA and NHL will be lucky to get in a full playoff if they even return. Major League Baseball certainly won’t play a full 162-game schedule. And who knows about the NFL? But while coronavirus is wreaking havoc on the calendars of every sports …
Fernando Valenzuela
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
Los Angeles’ famed bout of “Fernandomania!” actually happened during the strike-shortened 1981 season. The rookie Valenzuela started opening day at Dodger Stadium and won his first eight starts, five of them by shutout. He finished the year with a 13-7 record and a 2.48 ERA, winning both Cy Young and Rookie of the Years as the Dodgers went on to win the World Series.
