No, Fernando Valenzuela didn’t breathe through his eyelids: Where the urban legend came from

Sometimes Hollywood gets it right. They do such a good job with a movie that specific phrases and images live rent free in our heads forever. There are moments in History that mesh with scenes on the big screen and years later it’s hard for us to remember which was which. This is the case with “Bull Durham,” a movie written and directed by Ron Shelton that gave viewers a very realistic idea of what minor league baseball was like in the 80s. Baseball enthusiasts, fans, former players and Sports writers who know the Game inside and out all agree that “Bull Durham” is one of, if not, the best baseball movie ever.

Where did the idea that Fernando Valenzuela breathed through his eyelids come from?

As far as we can tell, it wasn’t Vince Scully or any other baseball writer who claimed the Mexican pitcher breathed through his eyelids. The Dodgers left-hander took baseball by storm with his unique windup and release as well as his effectiveness with his screwball. Tommy Lasorda called on him on 1981 on Opening Day and the chubby 20-year-old delivered in Houston in his first start, getting a 2-0 win over the Astros. The rest is history.

His pitching delivery was unique, yes, and many tried to imitate it, but nobody could wind their body, look up at the sky, and deliver a pitch like Valenzuela. That’s where Susan Sarandon’s character in “Bull Durham” comes into the picture. Annie, a baseball groupie and expert in her own right, gave Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh some pitching advice in her backyard to try and get him out of a rut:

Annie: “Now, I want you to breathe through your eyelids?”

Nuke: “My eyelids?”

Annie: “Yeah, like the lava lizards of the Galapagos Islands. See, there are some lizards that have a parietal eye behind their heads so they can see backwards. Haven’t you ever noticed how Fernando Valenzuela, he just doesn’t even look when he pitches? He’s a Mayan Indian. Or an Aztec, I get them confused.”

Annie’s advice worked and Nuke started dominating on the hill. It’s unclear if he was “breathing through his eyelids” or if his success came from wearing the garder belt under his uniform, but either way, the either way Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) and Annie (Susan Sarandon) teamed up and got the “million-dollar arm but a five-cent head” (Tim Robbins) to the big leagues.

Over 35 years later we can still see Nuke Laloosh and Fernando Valenzuela, who passed away on Oct. 22, 2024, looking up to the sky and establishing their presence throwing heat by an unsuspecting batter.