Robert Cuellar (August 20, 1952 – January 20, 2025) was an American professional baseball player who played briefly with the Texas Rangers of the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) in as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He held several coaching positions in baseball, including pitching coach, bullpen coach, and manager. Cuellar was later a special assistant in the player development department of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Background

Cuellar was born in

Alice, Texas Alice is a city in and the county seat of Jim Wells County, Texas, Jim Wells County, Texas, United States, in the South Texas region of the state. The population was 19,104 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Alice was established in 18 ...

, on August 20, 1952. He was a graduate from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

and was of

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

descent.

Playing career

Cuellar was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 29th round (592nd overall) of the

1974 MLB draft The 1974 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1974 MLB season. The draft saw the San Diego Padres select Bill Almon first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1974 Major League Baseball ...

. Bobby Cuellar played in the minor leagues from 1974 to 1981, finishing his career with one season in Mexico. He briefly had a "

cup of coffee A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

" with the Texas Rangers in 1977 appearing in four games before returning to the minor leagues at Tucson.

Coaching career

Due to also pitching winter ball during his career as a pitcher and the lack of pitch counts in the 1970s, he overused and eventually wore out his shoulder. After his career was over, he went on to a career in coaching and managing. Beginning in 1983, he worked in the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

' organization until 1996. Since then, in addition to stints on the major league coaching staffs of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

, Texas Rangers, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, Cuellar spent six years coaching in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

' minor league system. While in the Twins system he mentored a young

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

who he taught to throw a circle changeup, the importance of trusting in his ability to throw it and made him repeatedly throw it in minor league games. Adding this pitch, which would go on to become his most notorious, to his rotation made Santana extremely effective and within the space of a full season from 2001 to 2002 Santana went from an average pitcher with control issues and a 4.74 ERA to a 2.99 ERA ace who would be in contention for the best pitcher in baseball over the next 5 seasons, repeatedly citing Cuellar's influence. He was chosen for the 2023

Mike Coolbaugh Award The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually by Minor League Baseball to recognize "an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field." It is usually awarded ...

in recognition of his "outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field." His resume includes: *1983–1985

, Minor League Coach *1986–1987 Wausau Timbers, Manager *1988–1988 San Bernardino Spirit, Pitching Coach *1989–1990

Williamsport Bills The Williamsport Bills were a Class AA Eastern League baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and New York Mets from 1987 to 1991 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They played their games in Bowman Field ...

, Pitching Coach *1991–1991

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, Pitching Coach *1992–1993 Seattle Mariners, Minor League Pitching Instructor *1994–1994

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons ...

, Pitching Coach *1995–1996 Seattle Mariners, Pitching Coach *1997–2000

, Pitching Coach *2001–2001 Texas Rangers, Bullpen Coach *2002–2002

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

, Pitching Coach *2003–2005

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

, Pitching Coach *2006–2007

, Bullpen Coach *2008–2008

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado ...

, Manager *2009–2012

, Pitching Coach *2013–2014

, bullpen coach *2015

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitch ...

, pitching coach *2016:

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

, pitching coach *2017:

, pitching coach *2018–2019: Great Lakes Loons, pitching coach

Death

Cuellar died after suffering a heart attack in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, on January 20, 2025. He was 72.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuellar, Bobby 1952 births 2025 deaths American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada Bakersfield Mariners players Baseball coaches from Texas Baseball players from Jim Wells County, Texas Calgary Cannons players Charleston Charlies players Gastonia Rangers players Gulf Coast Rangers players Lynchburg Rangers players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos coaches People from Alice, Texas Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Seattle Mariners coaches Salt Lake City Gulls players San Antonio Brewers players Tacoma Tigers players Tacoma Tugs players Texas Longhorns baseball players Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers players Tucson Toros players 20th-century American sportsmen