Fastball

Cincinnati Reds Legend Johnny Cueto Goes Viral in Winter Ball Appearance

Cueto, pitching in the Dominican Republic, is wearing No. 100 these days?

Brady Farkas

Reds Pitcher Johnny Cueto throws in the first inning during The Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies third game of their NLDS playoff game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati Sunday October 10, 2010.
Reds Pitcher Johnny Cueto throws in the first inning during The Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies third game of their NLDS playoff game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati Sunday October 10, 2010. / Jeff Swinger via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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File this one under "things you didn't expect to see today:" Longtime major league legend Johnny Cueto wearing No. 100 while pitching in the Dominican Winter League.

Sarah Langs of MLB.com posted the photo of a slim-looking Cueto rocking the odd-looking numerals.

About to turn 39 years old, Cueto is continuing his professional career any way he can. Perhaps a good showing in the winter league season can lead him to a minor league contract before spring training.

A 17-year veteran, Cueto has played with the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels. Lifetime, he's gone 144-113, making two All-Star Games along the way.

In addition to his two All-Star games, Cueto won the 2015 World Series with Kansas City, helping the Royals defeat the New York Mets. He's got six different seasons of double-digit wins and even won 20 games for the Reds back in the 2014 campaign. He finished second in the National League Cy Young voting that year, one of three different seasons that he's received Cy Young votes. He also received MVP votes in three seasons.

Famous for his "Cueto shake" on the mound, he's become somewhat of an inspiration to pitchers who want to mess with hitters timing. Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman have incorporated stops and shimmy's in their deliveries, likely based on seeing Cueto perfect the craft.

Spring training begins in mid-February, so Cueto has a little less than two months to sign with a big league team in hopes of being ready for an 18th major league season.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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