Emilio Cueche

Emilio Cueche h-mee'-leo / coo-eh'-chay/small> (October 20, 1927 – July 31, 2006) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He was nicknamed "Indio". (Spanish)

Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, the righthander Cueche was one of the most dominant pitchers in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the decade of the 1950.

Actually, Cueche tried to starting out as a shortstop. Although Venezuela is renowned for producing noteworthy shortstops, he was not destined to be one of them. He was short, stocky, but uncommonly strong and well fit. At 5-foot-6 (1.68 m), , Cueche might not have had the physique of most of his contemporaries, though he relied on tenacity, savvy and hard-breaking pitches to establish himself as one of the most trustworthy pitchers of his era.

Besides a lively fastball, his repertoire included a slider, a knuckler, a changeup and a curve, being the latter one of his most effective pitches.La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela

Through his brief career, Cueche set several records in the VPBL that still remain intact. Considered a workhorse who could pitch deep into games, he also was known as a slick-fielding pitcher and competent hitter as well. As a result, Cueche was often used in a pinch-hitting role, and also played in the outfield due to his defensive skills.

Apart from his 12-season stint in the Venezuela league, he made six Caribbean Series appearances and played nine full seasons in Minor League Baseball and the Dominican Republic and Mexico leagues during the same period.McNeil, William (2007). ''Black Baseball Out of Season: Pay for Play Outside of the Negro Leagues''. McFarland & Company.

Professional career

Debut season 1950-51

Cueche made his professional debut during the winter of 1950–1951 with the Cervecería Caracas of the Venezuelan League. The Cervecería club was guided by experienced manager José Antonio Casanova, who used Cueche in a relatively low-pressure role as a middle reliever before giving him a spot in the starting rotation late in the season. The young pitcher responded with a 5–2 record and a 3.28 earned run average in 15 games. He completed three of his five starts, giving up 59 hits and 33 walks, while striking out 23 batters in innings pitched. He also collected 12 hits in 54 at bats for a .222 average in 28 games, which included two doubles, one home run, nine runs and six RBI. After the season, he earned Rookie of the Year honors.

1951-52

Cueche was assigned to the Sabios de Vargas in 1951–1952, as he posted a 6–7 record and a 3.76 ERA in 23 of the 54 games of the team. He completed five of his nine starts, racking up more walks (62) than strikeouts (59) in innings, a work overload for a young pitcher, even though he showed tendency to fall behind in the count, making it harder for him to get an out. In addition, he hit .204 (10-for-49) and slugged .286 in 31 games. He then served as a reinforcement in the Navegantes del Magallanes during the 1952 Caribbean Series, where he tossed scoreless innings in two relief appearances, giving up two singles, while striking out two and walking one batter.

But the control issues did not last long for a player propelled by a natural talent and willingness to work out his proven deficiencies. Progressing rapidly, Cueche showed positive results in a short-term period. After the Series ended, he joined the Águilas Cibaeñas club of the now extinct Dominican Republic Summer League.

In 1952 the Águilas won the season pennant, led by veteran pitcher Terris McDuffie, who posted a 14–3 record for a .824 winning percentage. Meantime, Tigres del Licey outfielder Luis Olmo paced the hitters with a .344 average, while teammate Alonzo Perry claimed the home run title with 11 round-trippers. Other than that, most of the Dominican Republic news headlines were dedicated to the Venezuelan Cueche, who went 9–9 with a 2.80 ERA, and topped the league both in strikeouts (101) and innings (148). Moreover, he collected a solid 2.80 ERA and batted .271, but gained notoriety when he defeated pitching ace Rubén Gómez and the rival Tigres de Licey in town, during the decisive seventh game of the final series, by a score of 4–1. Notably, it was the first championship title in the long storied history of the franchise.Black Baseball Out of Season

Cueche returned with Vargas in the 1952–1953 season. This time he spent more time in the outfield corners, due to a sore arm. He hit .309 (38-for-123) with 16 RBI and 13 runs scored in 44 games, including 10 doubles, one triple and three stolen bases. He slugged .407 and collected the fourth-highest batting average in the four-team league. As a pitcher, he went 3–5 with a 5.37 ERA in just 13 games, along with nine starts, two complete games, 31 strikeouts, and 19 walks in innings, improving his SO/BB ratio from 0.95 to 1.63. A few weeks later, he came back to the Dominican Republic to play for the Águilas.

The 1953 DRSL season was claimed by the Tigres del Licey. The team was again led by Perry, who repeated as home run titleholder with 11. Estrellas de Oriente slugger Tetelo Vargas captured the batting title with an average of .355, whilst teammate Wilmer Fields showed his success as a two-way player, collecting a 5–2 pitching record and a .393 average in 107 at-bats. On this occasion, McDuffie went 8–4 with a 2.53 ERA for the second place Águilas. Nevertheless, Cueche walked off with most of the pitching honors, as he led the league with 13 victories, 96 strikeouts, 13 complete games, and 161 innings pitched. In addition, Cueche delivered a heroic effort on July 19, 1953, when he hurled a 17-inning, 3–2 complete game victory over the rival Licey club. At the end of the contest, the enthusiastic Águilas fans lifted Cueche up on their shoulders, and carried him triumphantly through the streets of Santiago de los Caballeros to his home, which was relatively near the ballpark.

Cueche went 13–10 with a 3.63 ERA in 33 of the 78 games of his team, while setting regular season records with 18 complete games, five shutouts and 208 innings pitched, feats that never have been matched in Venezuelan baseball.Records de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional Moreover, he finished one win behind co-leaders Ramón Monzant and Thornton Kipper, and surpassed Tommy Byrne (12), Howie Fox (12) and Ralph Beard (10). With his 208 innings, he beat his counterparts Monzant (187), Kipper (167), Beard (156), Fox (140) and Byrne (119). It was a season dominated by strong pitching, particularly coming from the aforementioned big leaguers, whom Cueche faced on more than one occasion. And, although he also led in losses, Cueche was one of the hardest men in the league to beat, and several times he lost only by the failure of the Gavilanes to score even one run for him.

1954 summer series and international league

Cueche later served as a reinforcement for the Pastora champion team during the 1954 Caribbean Series, where he made two relief appearances.Serie del Caribe In Game 7, against the Alacranes de Almendares of Cuba, he came to rescue Fox with runners on second and third and one out in the third inning. He struck out Angel Scull with relative ease, but gave a walk to Earl Rapp. Then, with bases loaded and two outs, he struck out Julio Bécquer to end the threat, and followed with a scoreless inning of work in the next frame. After that, Cueche replaced Beard early in Game 10 against Puerto Rico's Criollos de Caguas, lasting innings while giving up one run on six hits. He finished with a 1.04 ERA in innings in the Series and did not have a decision.

During the 1954 summer he reported to the Havana Sugar Kings, which joined the International League as the Triple A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds in that season. The team was managed by Regino Otero and played its home games at ''Gran Stadium'' in Havana, Cuba

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases