It was just last month when 63-year-old Fernando Valenzuela, the beloved Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who sparked Fernandomania, died from a mysterious illness.
A newly published copy of his death certificate dispels much of the mystery: According to that document, Valenzuela’s underlying cause of death was possibly related to a liver disease and liver failure.
The certificate, first reported by TMZ, listed septic shock, decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as underlying causes. The certificate also suggest that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease may also have contributed to his death. A rare and lethal brain disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob causes changes in brain tissue and affects muscle coordination and memory, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.