Longhorn baseball player Bobby Cuellar has passed away!

Robert Cuellar (born August 20, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player who played briefly with the Texas Rangers of the Major League Baseball  (MLB) in 1977  as a relief pitcher. He graduated from the University of Texas.  He has held several coaching positions in baseball, including pitching coach, bullpen coach, and manager. He was a special assistant in the player development department of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

1972 Texas Longhorn baseball

College World series 2–2
Conference
Southwest Conference
Record
50–9 (12–6 SWC)
Head coach
 Coach Cliff Gustafson
Home stadium- Clark Field

Seasons


† – Conference champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament June 30, 1972^[1]

The Longhorns reached the College World Series , finishing tied for third with wins over Ole Miss and Oklahoma and loses to Connecticut and a 10 inning loss to eventual champion USC.

Pitchers
5 – Bobby Cuellar
8 – Martin F. Flores
10 – Ron Roznovsky
Catchers
19 – Bill Berryhill
 
infielders
2 – Mike Markl
3 – David Chalk
7 – John D. Langerhans
9 -Ken Pape
Outfielders
4 – Terry Pyka
 

1 – Amador G. Tijerina
12 – James Ray Brown
13 – Thomas Henry Ball
14 – Charlie E. Crenshaw
15 – Dennis George Magro
16 – Steven Michael Clancy
17 – Zane Grubbs
22 – Samuel Nicholson
24 – Jim McCutchen

Bobby Cuellar’s journey took him around the world but he never left his Alice roots
Len Hayward Corpus Christi Caller Times





Bobby Cuellar remembers his summers on the baseball diamond in Alice, when he tried to get players, sometimes twice his age, out.
Cuellar was playing in South Texas’ flourishing semi-pro circuit at the time. After the high school season ended in Alice, it was the one option Cuellar had to hone his baseball skills because most organized youth leagues did not go beyond 15 years old.
The semi-pro circuit at the time had teams on the King Ranch and from other spots in South Texas, such as Refugio, but for a high school baseball player, it resulted in a trial by fire against a mix of college players in their 20s and men in their 30s who played baseball in their spare time.

“There was nowhere else to play,” Cuellar said. “You played on your high school team in the season, and (in the semi-pro leagues) basically you pitched once a week on Sunday, maybe. At one time you might have pitched on a Tuesday or something. But you learned how to survive pitching against college players, and grown players that were 21, 22, 30 or 36 years old. You learned how to get them out. You learned how to survive.”

Cuellar said his uniform was not fancy, either. He said it was not uncommon for him to pitch in jeans, t-shirt, spikes and a hat. But the experience gained on those fields were a key part of Cuellar’s baseball experience and why he still harbors plenty of love for the game today. Thursday night, Cuellar was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hooks at their annual South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet.

Cuellar was a star at Alice and later went on to pitch for the University of Texas and was drafted by the Texas Rangers where he embarked on an eight-year professional career that saw him spend some time in the major leagues with the Texas Rangers.

He later became a coach and instructor for multiple Major League teams, and now currently works for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Cuellar, 67, never strayed far from his roots in Alice.
Cuellar may have scouted and coached in 49 of the 50 states, but each year, when the season was complete, he returned home to Alice, where he still resides today.
Cuellar and Nora, his wife of 42 years, live in the same house they purchased in the 1980s in Alice.
“I had my roots here and my wife had her parents here,” Cuellar said. “There was a time and place you could come home and be with your family and take care of things with your family.”

Cuellar’s baseball journey has taken him across the United States and the world. He’s done nearly everything a coach or instructor can do, from serving as a pitching coach for a major league team to managing winter baseball in the Dominican Republic.
Cuellar said he knew early on in his career he wanted to coach, even saying that when he was in high school, he was always watching games and thinking like a coach. When he quit playing in the early 1980s, Cuellar said he made some phone calls and got a job offer from the Seattle Mariners. That sparked his baseball coaching journey.
He’s managed in the minor leagues and been a coach in the major leagues, but for him, the best part is being at the ballpark each day.  
“There are very few times that I thought it was a job,” Cuellar said. “I tell you this: in the 47 years or so, I’ve never had a contract of more than one year. Every year I go to spring training as a player, coach or manager and that would be my year to prove something that I could do what I do. I enjoyed what I was doing. There were years where it was really hard, but overall, as long as I’m at the ballpark watching a baseball game, I’m happy.”



Len Hayward is the USA Today Sports Network Plains Region sports director and the Caller-Times sports editor. Support more coverage like this by checking out our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe  

“I didn’t even know I was going to get the award -number one. It was really a surprise. If you’ve read it. We had a meeting – a Zoom meeting with a hundred and something people, and I thought it was about work, and our firm director, Will Rhymes, ended up letting me know that I had won the award,” Cuellar said.

Eventually, he took a job with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cuellar earned the prestigious award – Mike Coolbaugh Award. The award Bobby Cuellar was shocked to win – the 15^th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award – is given annually to an individual for their outstanding work to the sport of baseball. “I didn’t even know I was going to get the award -number one. It was really a surprise. If you’ve read it. We had a meeting – a Zoom meeting with a hundred and something people, and I thought it was about work, and our firm director, Will Rhymes, ended up letting me know that I had won the award,” Cuellar said.
Cuellar just celebrated his 50^th year in baseball and his 10^th year with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he is a special assistant in the player development department.
The lifelong resident of Alice played baseball outside with his older brothers, with the Knights of Columbus teams, and then at William Adams High School.
Cuellar said nothing in baseball is done alone. He’s thankful for the recognition and will continue to coach in the world of baseball – making a difference one player at a time.

Horns Up !