by kenhutchings » Tue Apr 06, 2010 11:10 am
I remember reading the following some years ago.
Before he was traded to the Orioles, Cuellar was a pitcher for the Astros. His stats with the Astros were so-so, but a scout from the Orioles noticed that Cuellar was a ground ball inducing pitcher, and felt that with an infield anchored by Brooks Robinson and Mark Belanger on the left side, many of those ground balls that were hits on the Astros would become outs with the Orioles. Given his success with the Orioles after the trade (three straight 20 win seasons from 1969-1971), it appears that those "1" rated infielders certainly made a difference.