Johnny Cueto Given Award for Stellar Debut Season with San Francisco
Johnny Cueto had a fantastic debut season for the San Francisco Giants, and was named Dominican Pitcher of the Year for his efforts.
Just a few days after attending the funeral of Yordano Ventura, his former teammate with the Kansas City Royals, Johnny Cueto was given a reason to smile again.
The San Francisco Giants’ pitcher has been named the Dominican Pitcher of the Year for the 2016 season, his third time receiving the honor. He also won the award for the 2012 and 2014 seasons, when he was with the Cincinnati Reds.
He received this beautiful trophy for the award:
Cueto was tremendous for San Francisco in his first season after signing a massive six-year, $130 million contract. In 32 starts, Cueto won 18 games (fifth in the MLB) and pitched to a 2.79 ERA (also fifth in the MLB) and a 1.093 WHIP (15th) while throwing a career-high five complete games (second). Cueto led all Dominican pitchers in each of those categories.
He made one start in the postseason, throwing eight great innings while allowing just three hits and one run while striking out 10. Unfortunately, he was stuck with the loss as Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman shut out the Giants’ lineup.
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It should also be mentioned just how popular Cueto became in such a short time with his new team. His great pitching helped that popularity, but his unorthodox deliveries and non-stop, fun-loving attitude made him a fan favorite in an instant at AT&T Park.
During the 2016 season, Cueto ended a couple of odd, almost unbelievable streaks for the Giants. By making his first scheduled start on April 5th last season, the second game of the season, Cueto became the first Dominican pitcher to start for San Francisco since Merkin Valdez took the ball on April 2nd, 2008. That game was threatened by rain, so manager Bruce Bochy let Valdez start to not waste the scheduled starter that day, Tim Lincecum. Valdez responded well with two perfect innings, striking out four Los Angeles Dodgers in what turned out to be the only start in his five-season major league career.
When Cueto won on April 5th, he became the first Dominican starter to earn a victory for the Giants in over two decades. The last Dominican to earn a win before Cueto was Sergio Valdez, when he did so on September 21st, 1995 against the Colorado Rockies. That start would be the penultimate game in Valdez’s major league career.
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Cueto will again be relied on heavily in 2017. The Giants’ staff of starting pitchers has the looks of one that will be among the game’s best, and that is due in no small part to Cueto. He and Madison Bumgarner combine to make one of the best top-of-the-rotation duos in baseball, and Matt Moore and Jeff Samardzija make for a very solid middle of the rotation. If the team can get contributions from the fifth spot, their rotation can lead them back to the postseason again.