Mike Cuellar
The Cuban southpaw who perfected the screwball arrived in Houston as a middling pitcher and transformed himself into one of the game's most devastating weapons. Cuellar's 1966 breakout season showcased a 2.22 ERA that was 59 percent better than league average, built around a screwball that tormented right-handed hitters and established him as an elite starter.
That Houston success earned him a ticket to Baltimore, where he became the forgotten ace of those legendary Orioles rotations. His Cy Young Award and four All-Star selections tell only part of the story—Cuellar was the crafty veteran who complemented Jim Palmer's power with guile and precision.
The screwball is a lost art today, but Cuellar mastered it when few dared throw the pitch that rotates opposite to a curveball. His 185 career wins and 3.14 ERA represent the work of a pitcher who understood that changing eye levels and arm angles could be just as effective as pure velocity.
Career · Hitting
15 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | CIN | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | — |
| 1964 | STL | 32 | 18 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | — |
| 1965 | HOU | 25 | 12 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .077 | — |
| 1966 | HOU | 38 | 71 | 1 | 1 | .113 | .306 | — |
| 1967 | HOU | 38 | 93 | 0 | 5 | .140 | .373 | — |
| 1968 | HOU | 28 | 57 | 1 | 3 | .193 | .470 | — |
| 1969 | BAL | 39 | 103 | 0 | 5 | .117 | .279 | — |
| 1970 | BAL | 41 | 112 | 2 | 7 | .089 | .257 | 36 |
| 1971 | BAL | 38 | 107 | 1 | 5 | .103 | .259 | 38 |
| 1972 | BAL | 35 | 87 | 2 | 7 | .126 | .322 | 48 |
| 1973 | BAL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | BAL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | BAL | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | BAL | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | CAL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 456 | 661 | 7 | 33 | .115 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
15 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | CIN | 2 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 15.75 | 25 | 5 | 2.750 |
| 1964 | STL | 32 | 72.0 | 5 | 5 | 4.50 | 80 | 56 | 1.569 |
| 1965 | HOU | 25 | 56.0 | 1 | 4 | 3.54 | 99 | 46 | 1.357 |
| 1966 | HOU | 38 | 227.3 | 12 | 10 | 2.22 | 159 | 175 | 1.078 |
| 1967 | HOU | 36 | 246.3 | 16 | 11 | 3.03 | 109 | 203 | 1.202 |
| 1968 | HOU | 28 | 170.7 | 8 | 11 | 2.74 | 109 | 133 | 1.154 |
| 1969 | BAL | 39 | 290.7 | 23 | 11 | 2.38 | 152 | 182 | 1.005 |
| 1970 | BAL | 40 | 297.7 | 24 | 8 | 3.48 | 111 | 190 | 1.149 |
| 1971 | BAL | 38 | 292.3 | 20 | 9 | 3.08 | 112 | 124 | 1.122 |
| 1972 | BAL | 35 | 248.3 | 18 | 12 | 2.57 | 127 | 132 | 1.079 |
| 1973 | BAL | 38 | 267.0 | 18 | 13 | 3.27 | 114 | 140 | 1.307 |
| 1974 | BAL | 38 | 269.3 | 22 | 10 | 3.11 | 116 | 106 | 1.259 |
| 1975 | BAL | 36 | 256.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.66 | 101 | 105 | 1.223 |
| 1976 | BAL | 26 | 107.0 | 4 | 13 | 4.96 | 71 | 32 | 1.673 |
| 1977 | CAL | 2 | 3.3 | 0 | 1 | 18.90 | 21 | 3 | 3.600 |
| Career | 453 | 2807.9 | 185 | 130 | — | — | 1632 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.