The baseball community mourns the loss of former Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen coach Bobby Cuellar, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 72 due to a heart attack.
In his first season with the Pirates in 2006, Cuellar led a bullpen featuring Mike González, Salomón Torres, Matt Capps, Dámaso Marté, and Roberto Hernández. The group posted a 3.98 ERA, ranking 10th in MLB and 5th in the National League that year.
After leaving the Pirates following the 2007 season, Cuellar managed the New Britain Rock Cats, then the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. He later joined the Rochester Red Wings, the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, as pitching coach from 2009 to 2012, a position he had also held from 2003 to 2005.
Cuellar returned to the majors as the Twins’ bullpen coach from 2013 to 2014 before resuming his minor league coaching career. In 2015, he became the pitching coach for the Ogden Raptors, a rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went on to serve as the pitching coach for the Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers’ Single-A affiliate, in 2016, before alternating between the two teams until 2019.
A 29th-round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 1974, Cuellar made four major league appearances for the club in 1977 and played professionally for over a decade.
Early in his coaching career, Cuellar served as the pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners (1983-1985, 1995-1996) and the Montreal Expos (1997-2000). He also coached for several minor league teams and worked as the Rangers’ bullpen coach in 2001.
In 2023, Cuellar was honored with the Mike Coolbaugh Award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding work ethic, baseball knowledge, and ability to mentor young players.
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