Guest Post by Special Teams Guru
Somewhere in the back of my closet is an Orioles yearbook from 1972 that has an image so indelible that it is forever burned in my memory. The caption on that yearbook reads “This Clover has Four Leaves” and features the Orioles 4-man pitching rotation which each finished the 1971 season with 20 wins. The four pitchers were Jim Palmer, Pat Dobson, Dave McNally, and the man they called “Crazy Horse”, Mike Cuellar. The feat that this quartet performed had only been done once in the history of baseball up until the 1971 season, and likely will never be repeated. Sadly, the third member of that famed Baltimore rotation, Mike Cuellar, succumbed to stomach cancer this past week.
In many ways, it could be viewed that Cuellar was in fact the lucky leaf on that four leaf clover. Acquired in December of 1968, the Orioles went on to win 318 games his first three seasons with the club and went to 3 straight World Series, winning it all in 1970. During that stretch, Cuellar won 67 regular season games, winning at least 20 each season. The Cuban born Cuellar was also the game winning pitcher in the deciding game of the 1970 World Series at Memorial Stadium. Much like Frank Robinson was viewed as the missing piece in the Orioles lineup a few years before, Cuellar is often thought to be the final piece of that fabled Orioles rotation.
The superstitious aspect of that “four leaf clover” caption was also a metaphor for how the man they called “Crazy Horse” lived his baseball life. I still remember seeing him take the mound and refusing to touch the chalk foul lines when he entered the diamond. It’s actually a practice that I adopted myself throughout my playing days and even to this day as a softball player. In recent days, there have also been numerous stories of favorite hats and odd in game quirks that made Cuellar a character in a time when baseball players were boring and vanilla. Anyone who saw him play saw the passion with which he played and will remember his broad grin.
I think I need to dig into my closet and find that old wrinkled book. The memories it will conjure were of the times when the Orioles ruled the baseball world and when the clover had “four leaves”. Thanks for the memories Crazy Horse.
I love hearing the stories of former Orioles greats. I remember hearing this story when I was growing up, you should dig up the year book.
I had a great time listening to O's fans talk about their memories of Cuellar pitch on 105.7 the fan earlier today. I'm disappointed I never got to see him play, but his history will live on forever through the Orioles.
STG
This is a great piece.
Sometimes I feel like I missed out on my time as a Baltimore sports fan. Reading your words about the glory days is refreshing and also a bit sad for me. My father got to witness the greatness that was the Baltimore Orioles. From 66 to 83 there wasn't a better franchise in the league. To have four pitchers each win 20 games in a season seems impossible today. But they did it and I feel a sense of pride because of it.
I'm highly critical of the current regime that runs the organization. But my love for the team is as strong as ever and reading your piece reinforces it.
Great job.
Thanks Mark. Zach asked me to do this story and I felt I owed it to a guy who meant so much to my childhood.
I hear you Mark, it's sad for me to read too. Probably the perfect piece for a day like today.
Admittedly older than MOST in this SF, Crazy Horse as he was affectionately termed was a giant among gentlemen, both on and off the field. At the time, you did not appreciate the winning Oriole ways until you suffer through 12 years of frustration. Here's hoping the after life is kind to the original number 35 and perhaps as a tribute to him the O's could restart the winning ways that MC instilled. Happy Easter to my BSR family.
Back atcha Will-o! See you on April 9!!!
Happy Easter to you too Will-o. I need to hear some more stories about the glory days of Orioles baseball. Four 20 game winners is a tough thing to imagine in today's game.
STG – You notice I used "G" for your name since this is a good piece… It seems odd but when I was a kid I emulated the not as known star, guys like Cuellar, Etchebarren, Grich… I was a big Cuellar fan as well as a McNally fan.
Most people don't know it but Cuellar was pitching terribly for the Astros because of some personal issues (divorce) that really affected him and the Astros management was down on him. The Orioles knew this and traded for him, gave him the money he needed to clear up the personal issues, finalized his divorce which basically cleared his head and the rest is history.
That's great insight. I certainly didn't know that side of the story. Keep the Orioles history going. I like it because it's tough to argue these guy's greatness.
Reading the comments and thinking back I remember Cuellar's time as one of the most exciting times in Oriole History. My Oriole experience began when I actullay marched in the Parade that they had for the Orioles, I believe it was 1954. I immediately became an Oriole fan and fondly remember guys like Cal Abrams, Chuck Deering and of course Willie Miranda. We had a lot of years competing with the Washington Centers to stay our of last place in the American League. So when the era of Cuellar and the rest came along I found it to be anything but bland. It was well worth the struggles that led to those victorious seasons. Mike Cuellar will be rewarded in heaven, I am sure for the example that he set and the joy that he brought not only to the children of the came, but the more matur. Thanks for giving him that tribute.
That's a great story. I love hearing O's fans talk about the team coming to Baltimore, it's tough for me to even imagine a time without baseball in Baltimore. I'm sure it was exciting seeing it's arrival because I know I love looking back at its great history.