| Mike Cuellar |
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A clever left-handed pitcher with an excellent screwball and Changeup , Cuellar was signed by Cincinnati as an amateur free agent in 1957 . After 10-years of bouncing from team to team in the majors and the minors, finally he found a permanent job with the powerful Orioles in the 1969 season. That August 10 , Cuellar's string of 35 straight batters retired in row is ended by Cesar Tovar , who also spoils Cuellar's No-hitter bid in a one-hit Shutout against the Minnesota Twins . Cuellar finished his first Major League season with a record of 23-11, 182 Strikeout s, 2.38 of Earned Run Average , and shared the Cy Young Award with Denny McLain . In 1970-71 Cuellar went for 24-8, 190, 3.48, and 20-9, 124, 3.08. By this time he was part of a strong pitching staff, forming with Jim Palmer and Dave McNally one of the finest rotations ever. The trio combined for eight 20-win seasons in three years (1969-71), racking up a combined 188-72 (.723) record, while the rest of the staff was 130-92 (.586). As an added value, in 1971 Pat Dobson posted a 20-8 season record, being part of the Orioles' "The Big Four" 20-game winners along with Cuellar, McNally and Palmer. Only one other team in MLB history, the 1920 Chicago White Sox , have had four 20-game winners. A winner of 18 games both in 1972 and 1973, Cuellar enjoyed a great 1974 season with 22-10, 106, 3.11, five shutouts and 20 Complete Game s. After two sub-par seasons, he was released by Baltimore. He signed as a free agent with the Angels in 1977 and was released at the end of the season. At age 42 in 1979 , Cuellar had a combined 7-6 record with three clubs in the Puerto Rican and Mexican leagues. In his 15-season career Cuellar had a record of 185-130, 1632 SO, 3.14 ERA, 172 complete games, 36 shutouts, 11 Save s, and 2808 Innings Pitched in 453 games. In five ALCS and three World Series , he went for 4-4, 56, 2.85, in 12 games. Currently, Mike Cuellar lives in Orlando, Florida , and is an active participant in the ''Hispanic Heritage Month'' event. Highlights
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