Dagoberto Cueto Concepción (August 14, 1937 – October 25, 2011) was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n-born

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. The native of

San Luis, Pinar del Río San Luis is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It is centered mainly on agriculture (tobacco, rice, fruit crops), stock raising. History It was founded in 1827, and established as a municipality in 1879, when it split ...

, was a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

whose nine-year career included seven

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for the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He was listed as a lanky tall and . Cueto was signed in 1956 by legendary

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Joe Cambria Joseph Carl Cambria, also known as "Papa Joe," (born Carlo Cambria; July 5, 1890 – September 24, 1962) was an American professional baseball scout and executive who was a pioneer in recruiting Latin American players. From 1929 through 1940, he ...

of the Washington Senators of 1901–1960, and was in his sixth year with the organization when he was recalled from Triple-A

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during the

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

franchise's first season as the Twins. He was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in five of his seven Minnesota appearances, including his MLB debut on June 18, 1961, against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

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. Although his day began badly when he allowed two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, a

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, a

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

and a

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to the first three hitters he faced, Cueto settled down and pitched into the ninth inning with a 3–1 lead. But, one

out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

away from his first big-league victory, Cueto surrendered a game-tying

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

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Billy Goodman and was removed from the contest.

Relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Pedro Ramos Pedro Ramos Guerra (born April 28, 1935), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the expansion Washing ...

then gave up a game-winning homer to eventual

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

r Nellie Fox. Cueto would gain his first and only MLB win in his last game with the Twins on July 26, working a scoreless one-third of an inning against the expansion Senators of 1961–1971 and halting a five-run Washington rally to preserve Minnesota's eventual 10–9 win.

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br>box score: 1961-07-26
/ref> Cueto posted an MLB won–lost mark of 1–3 during his Twins' career. In 21 total MLB

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, he permitted 27

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and ten bases on balls, and

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

five. His

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

was a disappointing 7.17. He died in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, one of his

minor-league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

stops, at the age of 74 in 2011.

References

External links

Oxley, Burr, ''June 18, 1961: Goodman, Fox Win It for White Sox in 9th With Unlikely Homers'' (Account of Cueto's Major League Baseball debut)

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

Obituary
1937 births 2011 deaths Asheville Tourists players Broncos de Reynosa players Charleston Senators players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Fort Walton Beach Jets players Fox Cities Foxes players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Minnesota Twins players Missoula Timberjacks players Nashville Vols players Sportspeople from Pinar del Río Province Spokane Indians players Superior Senators players Syracuse Chiefs players Vancouver Mounties players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States {{Cuba-baseball-pitcher-stub