Miguel Cuevas

Miguel Cuevas Piedra (Don Miguel)

• Bats Right

Miguel Cuevas was a Cuban star of the 1960s. He played both the infield and outfield.

Cuevas went 0 for 5 in the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games, in which the Cuban national team failed to take any medal. In the 1962-1963 Serie Nacional, he tied for the league lead with three homers, tying Rolando Valdés. In the 1963 Pan American Games, he went 9 for 17 and would have led in average had he qualified. His 3 homers led the event and Cuba won the Gold. His 44 hits for the Orientales led the 1963-1964 season. For the Granjeros in 1964-1965, he won the home run title (5) and led in RBI (28).

Cuevas batted .325 for the 1965-1966 Granjeros, taking his only batting title. He hit .435 in the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, including the RBI double to produce the only run in a 1-0 win over the Dominican Republic. Don Miguel led in 1966-1967 with 38 RBI. He hit only .188 in the 1967 Pan American Games, when Cuba had to settle for Silver as Team USA won it all.

Cuevas set two records in 1967-1968, with 11 sacrifice flies and 86 RBI. The RBI record stood for 30 years before being broken by Óscar Machado. In 1970, Miguel led the Serie 10 Millones with 51 RBI for Camagüey. The veteran had his last big year in 1970-1971, with a league-best 10 homers.

Overall, in 13 seasons, Cuevas hit .279/.355/.409.