[9] The Cervecería club was guided by experienced manager José Antonio Casanova, who used Cueche in a relatively low-pressure role as a middle reliever before giving him a spot in the starting rotation late in the season.
He completed five of his nine starts, racking up more walks (62) than strikeouts (59) in 117+1⁄3 innings,[10] a work overload for a young pitcher, even though he showed tendency to fall behind in the count, making it harder for him to get an out.
He then served as a reinforcement in the Navegantes del Magallanes during the 1952 Caribbean Series, where he tossed 2+2⁄3 scoreless innings in two relief appearances, giving up two singles, while striking out two and walking one batter.
Meantime, Tigres del Licey outfielder Luis Olmo paced the hitters with a .344 average, while teammate Alonzo Perry claimed the home run title with 11 round-trippers.
[7] Moreover, he collected a solid 2.80 ERA and batted .271, but gained notoriety when he defeated pitching ace Rubén Gómez and the rival Tigres de Licey in town, during the decisive seventh game of the final series, by a score of 4–1.
At the end of the contest, the enthusiastic Águilas fans lifted Cueche up on their shoulders, and carried him triumphantly through the streets of Santiago de los Caballeros to his home, which was relatively near the ballpark.
[17] Moreover, he finished one win behind co-leaders Ramón Monzant and Thornton Kipper, and surpassed Tommy Byrne (12), Howie Fox (12) and Ralph Beard (10).
[18] After that, Cueche replaced Beard early in Game 10 against Puerto Rico's Criollos de Caguas, lasting 7+1⁄3 innings while giving up one run on six hits.
Cueche was part of a pitching rotation which featured Hooks Iott, Jiquí Moreno, Ken Raffensberger and Saul Rogovin, all of them with major league experience.
He ended with a 13–12 record and a team-best 12 complete games, including one shutout and a 4.80 ERA, giving up 79 walks and striking out 104 batters in 180 innings.
[17] Cueche was awarded by the press as the Best Player of the Season, locked in a close race with Monzant, as well as with champion bat Harold Bevan (.350) and slugger Bob Lennon, who led the league in home runs (9) and RBI (37).
It all started in the top of the seventh inning, when a controversial call against Venezuela prompted an angry protest from manager Lázaro Salazar, who was expelled from the game.
Therefore, Cueche walked intentionally Gus Triandos to load the bases, but allowed a sacrifice fly to Lee Walls that gave the Cuban team a 1–0 lead.
Afterward, Cueche was one of three pitchers selected for the Series All-Star team, joining Bill Greason and Sad Sam Jones of the Puerto Rico's Cangrejeros de Santurce.
In that year the improved Havana Sugar Kings climbed to third place in their second season, following an 87–66 record, behind the Montreal Royals and Toronto Maple Leafs Canadians teams.
[23] The Sugar Kings received a strong effort from Cueche, who posted a 12–10 record with a 2.97 ERA and two shutouts, while leading the team in starts (24), complete games (9), strikeouts (121) and innings pitched (197 ⅓).
[24] Otero was selected as the Manager of the Year, earning 20 of the possible 35 votes, even though the Sugar Kings could not get past Toronto in the first round of the playoffs, losing in five games.
[26] Valencia retained the services of some Santa Marta players as Julián Ladera and Cueche, and introduced Regino Otero as the team's manager.
[18] When Jerry Lane, Rudy Minarcin and Charlie Rabe joined the Sugar Kings' starting rotation in 1956, Cueche was relegated to a long relief role.
Otero, who started the season managing the team, was replaced by Napoleón Reyes during the mid-season, while the Sugar Kings ended in sixth place with a 72–82 record.
Cueche then played as a reinforcement for the Leones team in the 1957 Caribbean Series, where he took a 2–1 loss to Panama, after giving up two unearned runs in a complete-game performance in Game 5.
The team later defeated the Rapiños de Occidente of the rival Western League, en route to the championship and a trip to the 1958 Caribbean Series.
[17] Besides, he posted a best team average of .345 as a two-way player, overmatching teammates Lou Limmer (.308), Lenny Green (.306), Jim Frey (.304) and Earl Battey (.299).
Manager Reyes was replaced by Tony Pacheco early in the year, but the Havana season was up-and-down for the most part, as the team finished last in the eight-team league with a 65–88 record.
[29] He also led the team in wins, surpassing Mike Cuellar (13), Orlando Peña (11) and Rudy Árias (7),[29] while tying for ninth in the league along Gary Blaylock, Bennie Daniels and Bill Harris.
[30] In addition, Cueche often was used as a pinch hitter, totaling a .234 average with four doubles, one triple, one home run, and 22 RBI in 74 games (including 37 pitching appearances).
Guided by Preston Gómez, the 1959 Havana Sugar Kings rose to third place in the regular season and upset the Columbus Jets and the Richmond Virginians for a berth in the Junior World Series.
[3] After clinching International League title, the Sugar Kings defeated the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in the Junior Series through the maximum of seven games.
And the defending champions felt the impact of the conflict, ending in fifth place with a 76–77 record, 23+1⁄2 games out of contention, with Tony Castaño and Napoleón Reyes sharing the managing duties.
[10] Cueche was not ready to call it a career quite yet, though, and returned to the Diablos Rojos del México in the summer of 1962 at age 34, but failed in the intent.