Emilio Cueche

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

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.

Cueche tried to starting out as a shortstop. 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 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.

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.

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. 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). Notably, it was the first championship title in the long storied history of the franchise.

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.

Cueche went 13–10 with a 3.63 ERA in 33 of the 78 games of his team, 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). 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. The team was managed by Regino Otero and played its home games at Gran Stadium in Havana, Cuba. Cueche was part of a pitching rotation which featured Hooks Iott, Jiquí Moreno, Ken Raffensberger and Saul Rogovin, all of them with major league experience. He ended with a 13–12 record and a team-best 12 complete games, including one shutout and a 4.80 ERA, giving up 79 walks and striking out 104 batters in 180 innings. Cueche was named by manager Red Kress as the Opening Day starter in a rotation that included Bill Werle, Bill Kennedy and Julián Ladera.

In a stellar performance, Cueche won 50 percent of his last-place team's games and topped the league in complete games (13) and pitching appearances (29). His nine wins finished two behind league-leader Ramón Monzant, and his 2.09 ERA was the third best behind José Bracho (1.80) and Monzant (2.00). The Sugar Kings received a strong effort from Cueche, who posted a 12–10 record with a 2.97 ERA and two shutouts, while leading the team in starts (24), complete games (9), strikeouts (121) and innings pitched . He also batted .239 and slugged .308 as a pitcher-outfielder, including one home run, 16 runs, and 16 RBI in 77 of the 153 games of the team. 1955-56: Industriales de Valencia While Cueche reported to camp training the following VPBL season, he did not have a clear idea of his destination. Amidst a bevy of financial problems, the Santa Marta franchise was sold and renamed Industriales de Valencia before the 1955–1956 season. Valencia retained the services of some Santa Marta players as Julián Ladera and Cueche, and introduced Regino Otero as the team's manager. Otero, besides managing the Sugar Kings, also served as a scout in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He had mentored and signed numerous Latino players who went on to play for the Sugar Kings, as was the case of Cueche. The veteran pitcher responded with a 7–6 record and a 3.40 ERA in 22 games for the Industriales, leading the staff with 70 strikeouts and innings pitched. Notably, Otero guided Valencia to a championship in its inaugural season. As the league champions, the team represented Venezuela in the 1956 Caribbean Series. But Cueche struggled in the Series, sporting an ERA of 7.50 in six innings without a decision, for a disappointing Valencia that finished in last place with a 1–5 record. 1956-57 Cueche came back to Valencia and regained the confidence of Otero during the 1956–1957 season. At this point, he was officially named Opening Day starter and delivered one of his most productive seasons in the league, compiling a 12–5 record and a 3.33 ERA in 23 games, including 13 starts, seven complete games, 32 walks, 48 strikeouts, and innings pitched. As a batter, he went 16-for-59 (.308) with a double, one home run, nine RBI, and nine runs scored in 25 games. He then went 4–0 in his four playoff starts, completing all of them, including a 10-inning victory and a 1.70 ERA in 37 innings. Nonetheless, Cueche was vulnerable in the 1958 Series, as he went 0–1 with a 3.95 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance. It was his last performance in the Caribbean tournament. He also led the team in wins, surpassing Mike Cuellar (13), Orlando Peña (11) and Rudy Árias (7), Besides, his five shutouts tied him for the league lead, along with Blaylock, Cuellar, Bob Giallombardo and Tommy Lasorda. 1959-60 Subsequently, Cueche dropped precipitously in the 1959–1960 VPBL season. And it seemed like the heavy workload of previous years might have caught up with him, as he showed a 2–2 record and a 5.62 ERA in six games after working in just 24 innings.

That season, Cueche had not fully recovered. He went 0–3 with a 4.50 in 14 pitching appearances for the team, including two starts and only 42 innings of work. 1960-61 In 1960–1961, after five seasons with Valencia, Cueche was granted free agency status and signed a contract to play for the Leones del Caracas. He pitched mainly out of the bullpen, appearing in 19 games (nine starts) and going 6–6 with a 3.21 ERA in innings.

Pitching statistics Some statistics are incomplete because there are no records available at the time of the request. Regular season YearsLeagueWLW-L%ERAGPGSCGSHOSVIPHARAERSOBBRef 1950–1962 VEN 80 64 .556 3.42 229 128 75 1239 463 640 406 1952–1953 DOM 22 20 .524 2.73 94 197 1954–1960 IL 64 59 .520 3.74 221 128 50 1005.0 984 481 418 549 345 1960; 1962 MEX 4 9 .308 6.27 27 15 6 112.0 126 83 78 42

Postseason YearsLeagueWLW-L%ERAGPGSCGSHOSVIPHARAERSOBBRef 1956–1959;1961–1962 VEN(four times) 6 4 .600 3.36 10 10 6 65 26 35 19 1952;1954–1958 Caribbean Series (six times) 1 3 .250 2.33 14 6 3 0 1 58.0 54 22 15 33 15