Mike Cuellar Dies of Cancer

Young winner
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<CITE class=source>Associated Press
</CITE>
<!-- end mod-article-title --><!-- begin story body -->Mike Cuellar, a crafty left-hander from Cuba whose darting screwball made him a World Series champion and Cy Young winner with the Baltimore Orioles, died Friday. He was 72.
The Orioles confirmed Cuellar's death, but did not release other details.
Cuellar made his major league debut in 1959 and bounced around Cincinnati, St. Louis and Houston for almost a decade before a trade brought him to Baltimore. Wearing the black-and-orange bird logo, he blossomed on one of the most imposing pitching staffs in baseball history -- in 1971, he was among the Orioles' four 20-game winners.
A four-time All-Star, Cuellar was 185-130 overall with a 3.14 ERA. He was voted into the Orioles' Hall of Fame.
"He sure was an ace," Hall of Fame teammate Brooks Robinson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday night. "He had a way of making good hitters look bad, making them take funny swings."
Cuellar joined the Orioles for the 1969 season and that year became the first Baltimore pitcher to win the AL Cy Young Award, sharing the honor with Detroit's Denny McLain. Cuellar went 23-11 with five shutouts, including a game in which he held Minnesota hitless until Cesar Tovar's soft, leadoff single in the ninth inning.
Cuellar helped pitch Baltimore to three straight World Series from 1969-71. He finished off that run by teaming with Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Pat Dobson to become the only staff other than the 1920 Chicago White Sox with a quartet of 20-game winners.
Though often overshadowed in the rotation by Palmer, a future Hall of Famer, and McNally, another great lefty, Cuellar pitched more than his share of big games.
"I think when he got to Baltimore, he wanted to be like those other guys," Robinson said. "He wanted to win as many games as Palmer and McNally. He wanted the ball."
Cuellar started the first AL championship series game ever, in 1969 against Minnesota. He then outdueled Tom Seaver in Game 1 of the World Series -- it was the Orioles' only win while getting upset by the New York Mets.
Cuellar won a career-high 24 games in 1970 and again excelled in the postseason, this time with his arm and bat. A career .115 hitter, Cuellar highlighted Game 1 of the ALCS with a grand slam.
He then closed out the World Series by beating Cincinnati in Game 5 at old Memorial Stadium. After giving up three runs in the first inning, he shut out the Reds on two hits the rest of the way. Cuellar raised both arms after the final out and skipped toward third base for an embrace with Robinson -- the picture is among the most popular in Orioles lore.
"I can still see it, his arms up in the air," Robinson said.
Cuellar pitched a gem in his final World Series appearance, but lost Game 7 in 1971 to Pittsburgh 2-1.
Cuellar finished up 143-88 with the Orioles and ended his career in 1977 with the Angels.
Robinson said he first saw Cuellar while playing against him in Cuba in the winter leagues.
"He and I were the same age. I used to kid him all the time that he'd already been pitching in Cuba for five years. That used to get him going," Robinson said.
Cuellar had been living in Orlando, Fla., in recent times and last year was a volunteer pitching instructor for the Orioles at spring training.
Last May, he returned to Baltimore for an Orioles reunion weekend and threw out the first ball at Camden Yards before a game against the New York Yankees. His ceremonial duties done, he then sat in the stands with family members and friends in the back row of the lower deck, enjoying the evening and hardly recognized by nearby fans.
"He was a humble man," Robinson said. "He didn't brag about himself."

Bummer. Saw him pitch many times growing up. Best screwball I ever saw.

That was quite a pitching staff the Orioles had.

remember him and that very good pitching staff well,r.i.p

I was a little kid when that quartet won 20 games each.
Damn, sad to hear, that '68 Oriole team was one of the reasons that turned me into a baseball junky.

RIP Mike.

Judge Wapner said:

Bummer. Saw him pitch many times growing up. Best screwball I ever saw.

Click to expand...

Me too....good lefty....Orioles had some good teams during those times...:toast:

A class act and one of the great Cuban pitchers to escape to the US and star in the Majors.

Mike Cueller, one fine lefthanded pitcher was nicknamed "Crazy Horse" while with the Orioles, he ranks among Baltimore's top five career leaders in wins (143), strikeouts (1011), shutouts (30) and innings pitched (2028), and trails only Dave McNally among Oriole left-handers in wins and shutouts. 4 time All Star. World Series winner and 1969 Cy Young Award winner (tied with Denny McLain).

Cuellar finished his first season with Baltimore with a record of 23-11, 182 strikeouts and a 2.38 earned run average, and shared the Cy Young Award with Denny McLain, becoming the first Latin American-born winner of the award.

He started Game 1 of the 1969 American League Championship Series, but had no decision as the Orioles won 4-3 in 12 innings. In the World Series against the New York Mets, he won Game 1 by a 4-1 score but left Game 4 after seven innings, trailing 1-0; the Mets won 2-1 in the tenth inning, and completed their Series upset with a win in Game 5. Despite the O's losing in five game Cuellar had nothing to be ashamed of by his performance.

Mike was the winning pitcher of game 5 of the 1970 World Series on October 15, 1970 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore as The O's defeated the Reds 4 games to 1 behind Cueller who had to abandon his screwball after yielding 3 runs in the first inning. He settled down and went the distance as The O's won the game (and World Series) 9-3.

Mike took a heartbreaking loss in game 7 of the 1971 World Series. Losing 2-1 to The Pittsburgh Pirates. Series MVP Roberto Clemente drew first blood for the Pirates by hitting a two-out solo homer in the fourth off Cuellar. The Pirates added another run in the eighth when Jose Pagan doubled in Willie Stargell. The only run the O's could muster off winning pitcher Steve Blass was an RBI groundout by Don Buford in the eighth.

Oddly Mike was the first player to hit a grand slam in a league Championship Series in 1970 against the Twins.

In his 15-season career Cuellar had a record of 185-130 with a 3.14 ERA, 1632 strikeouts, 172 complete games, 36 shutouts, and 11 saves in 453 games and 2808 innings pitched. In five ALCS and three World Series, he went 4-4 with 56 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA in 12 games.

Not a hall of famer but stats much better than the average 15 year veteran MLB starter. Compares very well with fellow Cuban born outstanding starting pitchers from that era: Camillo Pascual and Luis Tiant.


RIP Mike Cuellar..


wil.