MLB legend Dave Winfield remembers Fernando Valenzuela ahead of World Series Game 1

Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield talks to Fox News Digital about Fernando Valenzuela's impact on the game.

Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield was 0-for-3 in five plate appearances against Fernando Valenzuela in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Valenzuela and the Dodgers won the game on their way to a World Series title.

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FILE - Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela throws the ceremonial first pitch during the MLB All-Star baseball game, July 19, 2022, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

The star pitcher was on the minds of the Dodgers and several other baseball figures, including Winfield, before Game 1 on Friday night as the two teams started their latest World Series matchup. Valenzuela died earlier in the week, and the Dodgers honored him with a No. 34 patch on their World Series jerseys.

Winfield recalled Valenzuela’s impact on baseball in an interview with Fox News Digital.

"Fernando was a great player," Winfield said. "He didn’t look like a baseball player, but he certainly was an awesome presence on the field. We faced him in the World Series in 1981. We had never seen him before. He was a rookie, he ends up being Cy Young Award winner, All-Star and all that.

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman wears a patch on his jersey in memory of former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela after Game 1 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

"He passed away the other day. People are really feeling bad out here in L.A. about him, because he was an icon. He