1988 Dodgers Week 11 review: Fernando Valenzuela wears glasses

The Dodgers had a busy week, thanks to a pair of doubleheaders necessitated by April's unexpected rainouts at Dodger Stadium. The eight-game week resulted in five wins, and two solid games from Fernando Valenzuela, who made a change this week as well. Though he was first resistant to the move, Valenzuela wore glasses on the mound on Wednesday against Atlanta, per Sam McManis of the Los Angeles Times:

At first, Valenzuela said he needed glasses only to see the ball while hitting and that he can see the plate and the catcher's glove just fine without them.

But before one start about a month ago, Valenzuela warmed up in the bullpen wearing his specs. He said that the wire rims interfered with his peripheral vision and hindered his habit of looking skyward during his delivery.

Contact lenses, apparently, are not an option.

"I can see the balls coming back to me better," said Valenzuela, who started wearing glasses while driving and hitting in spring training. "And when I look to the plate, I can see (catcher Mike) Scioscia's glove better. But I never look at the plate when I pitch. I never even see the plate."

The Dodgers began the week up a half-game over the Astros but after the 5-3 week Los Angeles leads the National League West by 1½ games.

Dodger Batter of the Week: Moving to right field has done wonders for Mike Marshall, who hit .440 and drove in seven runs. He beat out Kirk Gibson, who homered three times, and John Shelby, who hit two out of the park.

Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Tim Belcher and Don Sutton had nice games, but Orel Hershiser won twice and pitched 16 strong innings in his two starts to take this award.

Week 11 Record: 5-3

41 runs scored (5.13 per game)
35 runs allowed (4.38 per game)
.572 pythagorean winning percentage

Seasonal Record: 37-29

294 runs scored (4.45 per game)
237 runs allowed (3.59 per game)
.597 pythagorean winning percentage (39-27)

Transactions:

• Thursday: Pitcher Ken Howell, who recovered from offseason shoulder surgery but was outrighted to Triple-A from May 22, was promoted to the Dodgers to start against the Braves. To make room for Howell, outfielder Jose Gonzalez, who made a three-base error on Wednesday as defensive replacement, was outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque.
• Saturday: After getting battered on the mound on Thursday, Ken Howell also suffered a left knee sprain in a collision at home plate with Dale Murphy. Howell was placed on the 15-day disabled list, replaced by Shawn Hillegas, who is expected to start on Monday.

Game Results:

• Tuesday, June 14: Dodgers 5, Braves 4
• Wednesday, June 15: Dodgers 7, Braves 5
• Thursday, June 16: Braves 9, Dodgers 2
• Friday, June 17: Padres 7, Dodgers 4 (Game 1) | Padres 4, Dodgers 3 (Game 2)
• Saturday, June 18: Dodgers 3, Padres 0
• Sunday, June 19: Dodgers 12, Padres 2 (Game 1) | Dodgers 5, Padres 4 (11 innings, Game 2)

Upcoming Week: The Dodgers run the Ken Griffey Gauntlet, hosting the Braves for three games then hitting the road for three against the Reds at Riverfront Stadium.

Previous 1988 weeks in review: Apr 4-10 | Apr 11-17 | Apr 18-24 | Apr 25-May 1 | May 2-8 | May 9-15 | May 16-22 | May 23-29 | May 30-Jun 5 | Jun 6-12

Week 11 Stats