Cuellar came to the Astros in 1965, as the team was moving into the Astrodome and became know as the Astros, after their first three seasons as the Colt .45’s. Mike was a left handed pitcher with a truly wicked screwball. I loved to sit in the bleachers in center field next to the tunnel when he pitched, just to watch the ball dance! Cuellar was a 16 game winner for one of the most woeful teams in the league, in those days after the MLB expansion that brought them into the National League.
I the winter of 1968 the Astros traded Mike Cuellar to the Baltimore Orioles for a first baseman named Curt Blefry. I was outraged at the time. And time only confirmed that the trade was worse than any in team history, worse that Joe Morgan going to the Reds, worse than Kenny Lofton for Eddie Taubensee, the absolute worst! By 1970 Blefry proved to be so worthless that he was traded for a washed up Joe Pepitone!
Cuellar went on to help take the Orioles to three World Series appearances and to be a part of a staff that had four 20 game winners in one season. If Mike had been with the Orioles his whole career he would be in the Hall of Fame.
Farewell, Mike Cuellar.
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2 comments:
I don't see much baseball, but we have cricket bowlers who can do all sorts of things with a ball. It is the fast bowlers who make a dramatic impression on the fans bowling down at over 150km or 90 mph. NZ is not a great test cricket nation because we don't have the numbers and depth, but we do well in shorten versions of the game. But in all versions here, our best bowler is a slow bowler, dan Vettori, officially a left arm orthodox, a spin bowler! These spinners can make the bowls do some strange things. They use the natural spin from their fingers, the atmosphere and conditions, and from the ground itself. There are other bowlers in other countries, especially the sub continent, who use their wrists to obtain the spin, and of course you can obtain more variety with your wrist.
I'm sure your baseball pitchers have all the variety I have seen with softball pitchers here in NZ. Fast, slow, spin, change-ups etc
Few typos before, but I forgot to say gidday to you in the States, not seeing you at BE anymore.Hope you had a good easter. Bet you were busy anyway.
Peter
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