Mike Cuellar
From BR Bullpen
Miguel Angel Cuellar Santana
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
"Mike always thinks two pitches ahead. When they make an out on one of his set-up pitches he looks like they've spoiled his fun." - Elrod Hendricks about Mike Cuellar
Mike Cuellar was one of the top pitchers of the 1960's and 1970's. He won 185 games and was co-winner of the 1969 American League Cy Young Award as he tied with Denny McLain in the voting.
Born in Cuba, Cuellar played in the minors for Havana in 1957-59 as well as part of 1960 before the team moved to Jersey City. He made his major league debut in 1959 but did not come back to the majors until 1964.
Mike came into his own in 1964 with Jacksonville, going 6-1. He joined the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals for 32 games, going 5-5. The Cards won the 1964 World Series but Cuellar did not appear in post-season play.
1965 found him back at Jacksonville, where this time he went 9-1. He was traded in June of 1965 and came up with the 1965 Astros for whom he appeared in 25 games. Although he went 1-4, he was up in the majors for good.
In 1966 Cuellar's 2.22 ERA was second-best in the 1966 National League - Sandy Koufax was first, Juan Marichal was third, Jim Bunning was fourth and Bob Gibson was fifth. Mike's 12-10 record was achieved on a team which went 72-90.
In 1967 Cuellar went 16-11 on a team which went 69-93.
Cuellar achieved his biggest fame after being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. He won the Cy Young Award in 1969 with a 23-11 record, but his 1970 record of 24-8 was even better. He followed that up with records of 20-9, 18-12, 18-13, and 22-10. At the age of 38 he went 14-12.
Mike appeared in three World Series with the Orioles, posting an ERA of 2.61 in 41.1 innings. He won Game 1 of the 1969 World Series and Game 5 of the 1970 World Series.
In 1979 he played in the Inter-American League. See Cuellar and Zamora.
In 1989, he played for the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.
One website, listing the 40 greatest Orioles of all time, lists Cuellar as # 11. It also says that Cuellar got his start playing with an army team in Cuba in 1955.
- First Baseball Card appearance 1959 Topps
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 4-time All-Star (1967, 1970, 1971 & 1974)
- AL Cy Young Award Winner (1969)
- AL Wins Leader (1970)
- AL Complete Games Leader (1970)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 7 (1967 & 1969-1974)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 4 (1969-1971 & 1974)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 9 (1966, 1967 & 1969-1975)
- 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1967)
- Won two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals (1964; he did not play in the World Series) and the Baltimore Orioles (1970)
| AL Cy Young Award | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1969 | 1970 |
| Denny McLain | Mike Cuellar & Denny McLain | Jim Perry |
