Bobby Cuellar

Robert "Bobby" Cuellar (born August 20, 1952 in Alice, Texas) is the pitching coach of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. He is a former professional baseball player who played briefly with the Texas Rangers in 1977 as a relief pitcher. He is a graduate from the University of Texas and is of Mexican American descent. He has held several coaching positions in baseball, including pitching coach, bullpen coach, and manager.

Playing career

He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 29th Round (592nd overall) of the 1974 amateur entry draft. Bobby Cuellar played in the minor leagues from 1974 to 1981, finishing his career with one season in Mexico.^{[citation needed]} He briefly had a "cup of coffee" with the Texas Rangers in 1977 appearing in four games before returning to the minor leagues at Tucson.

Career in the Dugout

Due to also pitching winter ball during his career as a pitcher and the lack of pitch counts in the 1970s, he overused and eventually wore out his shoulder. After his career was over, he went on to a career in coaching and managing. Beginning in 1983, he worked in the Seattle Mariners' organization until 1996. Since then, in addition to stints on the major league coaching staffs of the Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, and Pittsburgh Pirates, Cuellar has spent six years (as of 2009) coaching in the Minnesota Twins' minor league system. His resume includes:

• 1983-1985 Seattle Mariners, Minor League Coach
• 1986-1987 Wausau Timbers, Manager
• 1988-1988 San Bernardino Spirit, Pitching Coach
• 1989-1990 Williamsport Bills, Pitching Coach
• 1991-1991 Jacksonville Suns, Pitching Coach
• 1992-1993 Seattle Mariners, Minor League Pitching Instructor
• 1994-1994 Calgary Cannons, Pitching Coach
• 1995-1996 Seattle Mariners, Pitching Coach
• 1997-2000 Montreal Expos, Pitching Coach
• 2001-2001 Texas Rangers, Bullpen Coach
• 2002-2002 Edmonton Trappers, Pitching Coach
• 2003-2005 Rochester Red Wings, Pitching Coach
• 2006-2007 Pittsburgh Pirates, Bullpen Coach
• 2008-2008 New Britain Rock Cats, Manager
• 2009-2009 Rochester Red Wings, Pitching Coach

Trivia

• He has coached such star pitchers as: Pedro Martínez, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, and Javier Vazquez.
• Taught Johan Santana the changeup while serving as the pitching coach for the Edmonton Trappers from 2001-2002.
• In his brief stint in the big leagues, he gave up a total of one home run to Dave Kingman.
• Bobby Cuellar is bilingual in Spanish and English.