Baltimore Orioles History: Top 5 Orioles All-Time Leaders in Wins
4. Mike Cuellar, 143 Wins
Pitcher Mike Cuellar spent eight of his 15 years in MLB with the Baltimore Orioles from 1969-1977 including three All-Star appearances and named 1969 AL Cy Young.
Cuellar, 32-years-old at the time, began his Orioles career after the Houston Astros traded him to Baltimore following the 1968 season. Upon his arrival, Cuellar was dealing with personal issues, but the Orioles organization helped change his issues back at home which led to some incredible moments on the field.
Per Adam Ulrey of Society for American Baseball Research:
"When Cuellar came to Baltimore the Orioles helped him get rid of his debt, and Cuellar was soon divorced and remarried. He became immensely popular with his Baltimore teammates. “Cuellar was a wonderful person,” remembered manager Earl Weaver."
A more focused Cuellar seemed to appear which translated to an awe-inspiring start to his Orioles career as he won at least 20 games in his first three seasons with the O’s. Here are some statistics of Cuellar’s incredible three-year stretch that included three straight trips to the MLB World Series:
Year W L W-L% ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO BF H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 1969 23 11 .676 2.38 39 39 18 5 290.2 213 94 77 18 79 182 1137 6.6 0.6 2.4 5.6 1970 24 8 .750 3.48 40 40 21 4 297.2 273 126 115 34 69 190 1214 8.3 1.0 2.1 5.7 1971 20 9 .690 3.08 38 38 21 4 292.1 250 111 100 30 78 124 1166 7.7 0.9 2.4 3.8
Cuellar dominated in his first season with the Orioles by registering a 2.38 ERA, second-lowest to the great Palmer, with 23 wins, which earned him the AL Cy Young award. Most noteworthy, Cuellar helped the Orioles earn their second World Series title in franchise history, which included a regular season record of 24-8 with a 3.48 ERA.
After a rough first inning in Game 5 of the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Cuellar regrouped and tossed eight shutout innings to help the O’s become World Champions.