Baltimore Orioles top 10 all-time leaders in career strikeouts
By Ben Palmer
5. Mike Cuellar – 1,011 career strikeouts
Mike Cuellar is one of the better pitchers that I feel like doesn’t get talked about enough outside of Baltimore. He’s one of the best pitchers in Baltimore Orioles history, and had one of the best seasons in the history of the team.
In 1969, Cuellar ended the year with a 2.38 ERA, and that alone is impressive enough, but here’s why it was even more impressive. He averaged a game score of 62 that year, and what makes his 2.38 ERA impressive, is that it was 1.23 points lower than the league average ERA of 3.61. That 1.23 ERA differential from league average is the fourth-best in Orioles history.
Cuellar was awesome for his whole career, earning four All-Star nominations, winning two World Series (one with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964, and one with the Orioles in 1970), a Cy Young award (1969) and lead the MLB in wins in 1970.
Not only is he number five in strikeouts all-time for the Orioles, but he’s top-five in wins (143), shutouts (30), and innings pitched (2,028).