Emilio Cueche [eh-mee'-leo / coo-eh'-chay] (October 20, 1927 – July 31, 2006) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He was nicknamed "Indio".Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Daniel (2006). La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela. LVBP, Caracas. (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.
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.La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela
Through his brief career, Cueche set several records in the VPBL that still remain intact.Gutiérrez, Daniel; González, Javier (2006); Records de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional. LVBP. 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.Cervecería Caracas (1950–1951) 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.Nuñez, José Antero (1994). Serie del Caribe de la Habana a Puerto La Cruz. JAN Editor.
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.Emilio "El Indio" Cueche – Article by Rafael V. Peña, ACD-NY member (Spanish) Notably, it was the first championship title in the long storied history of the franchise.Aguilas Cibaeñas website (September 25, 2012) – Se Cumplen 60 Años de Primera Corona de Águilas (Spanish)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.Listín Diario – El venezolano Emilio (El Indio) Cueche, lanzando con las AC, venció al "Licey" en 17 entradas (Spanish)
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.1954 Havana Sugar Kings 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. He also helped himself with the bat, hitting .307 (23-for-75) and slugging .360 with four doubles, nine runs and 13 RBI, in 57 games as a two-way player for the fifth-place team. At that time he had amassed almost 400 innings pitched between his winter and summer seasons and the Caribbean Series. But he did not show signs of fatigue and went to play winter ball in the Venezuelan league. 1954-55 VPBL season: Santa Marta The VPBL resumed its activities in the 1954–1955 season, while Cueche found himself on the move again. This time he was allocated to the Santa Marta de La Guaira, which entered the league as a replacement for the departed Vargas club.1954–1955 Venezuelan Professional Baseball League season Cueche was named by manager Red Kress as the Opening Day starter in a rotation that included Bill Werle, Bill Kennedy and Julián Ladera.Santa Marta BBC (1954–1955)
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).1954–1955 Venezuelan Professional Baseball League season 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). He also ended third in strikeouts (77), being surpassed only by Monzant (98) and Don Bessent (78). In addition, his 16 starts were second to the 17 of Ben Flowers and his innings ranked him third, following Monzant (153.0) and Bessent (). Cueche was awarded by the press as the Best Player of the Season, locked in a close race with Monzant, as well as with champion bat Harold Bevan (.350) and slugger Bob Lennon, who led the league in home runs (9) and RBI (37). He then was included on the postseason roster of the pennant-winning Magallanes to fortify the squad for the Caribbean Series. 1955 Caribbean Series The 1955 Caribbean Series was held at Estadio Universitario in Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, which boosted capacity to 22,690 seats. All of that set the stage for Game 4, a contest that stands as one of the most memorable games in Caribbean Series history. In this contest, Cueche scattered two hits in a complete game duel with Almendares ace Joe Hatten, who limited Magallanes to four hits. Cueche turned in a brilliant performance against the powerful Cuban team, throwing a no-hitter through six innings, even though he was the losing pitcher.
On two days of rest, Cueche and Hatten pitched through fatigue and faced again in Game 10 of the Series. The Venezuelan clearly won the rematch in a decisive manner and secured a second place for his team. He came back from a three-run deficit in the fourth inning to defeat Almendares, 6–4, capping another duel between the two squads. Overall, he allowed four earned runs on nine hits and two walks, including a three-run homer to Triandos, and struck out eight batters to earn his second consecutive complete game effort. Additionally, he went 1-for-3 and started his second double play of the tournament (1-4-3).
Afterward, Cueche was one of three pitchers selected for the Series All-Star team, joining Bill Greason and Sad Sam Jones of the Puerto Rico's Cangrejeros de Santurce. International League 1955