February 19 in Dodgers History: Fernando Valenzuela becomes first player to earn $1 million through arbitration (1983)

Fernando Valenzuela was awarded a $1 million salary through arbitration with the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to reach that milestone through the arbitration process. The southpaw had established himself as one of baseball's premier pitchers after winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981.

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Source: Historical record

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