1937
Born May 8, 1937
, Las Villas, Cuba
Mike Cuellar Marquee
b. May 8, 1937 · Cincinnati Redlegs 1959, St. Louis Cardinals 1964, Houston Astros 1965–1968, Baltimore Orioles 1969–1976, California Angels 1977
Mike Cuellar pitched briefly for Cincinnati and St. Louis before a longer run with Houston, and found his greatest success after a trade to Baltimore in 1969, where he stayed through 1976 before a final season in California.
His pitching line reads 185 wins and 130 losses, a 3.14 earned run average, 172 complete games from 379 starts, and 36 shutouts across 2,808 innings, with 1,632 strikeouts along the way.
He shared the Cy Young Award in 1969 and was a Sporting News All-Star twice, in 1969 and 1974, the two seasons that bookend a run of four All-Star selections.
He batted and threw left-handed, an unusual trait for a Cuban-born pitcher of his generation. He came from Las Villas, Cuba, born there on May 8, 1937, and he lived until April 2, 2010.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 4 | 1967, 1970, 1971, 1974 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 2 | 1969, 1974 |
| Cy Young Award | 1 | 1969 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1974 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | CIN | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1964 | STL | 32 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
| 1965 | HOU | 25 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
| 1966 | HOU | 38 | 71 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 0 | .113 |
| 1967 | HOU | 38 | 93 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 42 | 0 | .140 |
| 1968 | HOU | 28 | 57 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | .193 |
| 1969 | BAL | 39 | 103 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 0 | .117 |
| 1970 | BAL | 41 | 112 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 48 | 0 | .089 |
| 1971 | BAL | 38 | 107 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 0 | .103 |
| 1972 | BAL | 35 | 87 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 38 | 0 | .126 |
| 1973 | BAL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | BAL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | BAL | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | BAL | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | CAL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 456 | 661 | 37 | 76 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 9 | 304 | 0 | .115 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | CIN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 15.75 |
| 1964 | STL | 5 | 5 | 32 | 7 | 4 | 72.0 | 80 | 36 | 33 | 56 | 4.50 |
| 1965 | HOU | 1 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 56.0 | 55 | 22 | 21 | 46 | 3.54 |
| 1966 | HOU | 12 | 10 | 38 | 28 | 2 | 227.1 | 193 | 56 | 52 | 175 | 2.22 |
| 1967 | HOU | 16 | 11 | 36 | 32 | 1 | 246.1 | 233 | 83 | 63 | 203 | 3.03 |
| 1968 | HOU | 8 | 11 | 28 | 24 | 1 | 170.2 | 152 | 52 | 45 | 133 | 2.74 |
| 1969 | BAL | 23 | 11 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 290.2 | 213 | 77 | 79 | 182 | 2.38 |
| 1970 | BAL | 24 | 8 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 297.2 | 273 | 115 | 69 | 190 | 3.48 |
| 1971 | BAL | 20 | 9 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 292.1 | 250 | 100 | 78 | 124 | 3.08 |
| 1972 | BAL | 18 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 248.1 | 197 | 71 | 71 | 132 | 2.57 |
| 1973 | BAL | 18 | 13 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 267.0 | 265 | 97 | 84 | 140 | 3.27 |
| 1974 | BAL | 22 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 269.1 | 253 | 93 | 86 | 106 | 3.11 |
| 1975 | BAL | 14 | 12 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 256.0 | 229 | 104 | 84 | 105 | 3.66 |
| 1976 | BAL | 4 | 13 | 26 | 19 | 1 | 107.0 | 129 | 59 | 50 | 32 | 4.96 |
| 1977 | CAL | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.1 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 18.90 |
| Career | — | 185 | 130 | 453 | 379 | 11 | 2808.0 | 2538 | 979 | 822 | 1632 | 3.14 |
On this day & linked events
2010
Died April 2, 2010
1959
Major-league debut: Mike Cuellar
Mike Cuellar made a major-league debut on April 18, 1959.
1977
Final major-league game: Mike Cuellar
Mike Cuellar played a final major-league game on May 3, 1977.
Image: Baltimore Orioles, public domain