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.

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), 160 pounds (73 k), 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.

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.

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 57 2⁄3 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.

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 117 1⁄3 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 2 2⁄3 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.

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 58 2⁄3 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.