Kenta Maeda has created an exclusive club for himself

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Back in 1981, a 20-year-old Mexican rookie was tasked with making the start on Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That rookie shut out the Houston Astros, and then proceeded to keep the good times rolling until he had an 8-0 record with a 0.50 ERA and five shutouts to his name. That rookie was Fernando Valenzuela, and while his magical run to start the ‘81 season and his major league career as a pitcher has yet to be matched, another Dodgers rookie is trying his hardest to match it -- Kenta Maeda.

While Maeda has a long road ahead of him to match Valenzuela’s torrid start, it appears as if the 28-year-old Japanese righty appears to be poised to at least give it a decent challenge. Maeda delivered a solid performance in the rarefied air of Coors Field as he went 6.1 innings, struck out eight, walked only one and had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning. Most importantly, he didn’t give up a run, and in the process, he became the only pitcher in MLB history to allow only one earned run over his first four starts (with a minimum of 20 innings pitched).

Naturally, there are already rumblings of a possible sequel to the smash Hollywood hit of “Fernandomania,” and while it’s still a bit too early to start production on that film, the fact that we’re even talking about this as a possibility is amazing. As far as the short-term is concerned, the Dodgers have to be extremely pleased with the fact that their marquee signing has hit the ground running and passed the test of the NL West gauntlet with flying colors. It may not be time for “Maedamania” yet, but Kenta Maeda has given the Dodgers absolutely no reason to have buyer’s remorse over the deal they signed him to.