Famous Boston Red Sox pitcher, Luis Tiant Jr, or “El Tiante” one of the greatest pitchers of our time has passed away at 83. Tiant played 19 major league seasons finishing with a 3.30 ERA. Luis Tiant was more than just a legendary Cuban pitcher, he was a fixture with the Boston Red Sox long after his professional baseball career. Known for his flamboyant personality and an endless supply of Cuban cigars, this legend will live on in the hearts of baseball fans everywhere. How will he be remembered?
Tiant’s Start
Born November 23, 1940, in Marianao Cuba, Luis Tiant Jr was the son of Luis Tiant Sr. a left-handed star pitcher out of Cuba. It was Tiant Sr.’s dream for his son to play baseball so he vigorously paved the way. Tiant Jr, a right-handed pitcher started his minor league career in the Mexican League and American minor league play before landing his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians in 1964.
In 1968 Tiant won 21 out of 30 games, struck out 264 batters, and pitched 19 complete games with nine shutouts. That season he finished with a 1.60 ERA, the lowest in the American League, numbers unheard of today. After a six-year tenure in Cleveland he was traded to the Minnesota Twins before the 1970 season. He pitched a total of ten games that season, won seven, and had to face a shoulder injury that would lead the Twins to release him at the end of that year. Little did Tiant know that it would be the best thing to happen to him.
Tiant was well known for his back-to-the-batter windup and unpredictable release points, he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997. Tiant’s memorable wind-up, many people may not realize, was due to his injury while playing with the Twins, the injury that he was released over. While adjusting his body based on his broken scapula, he developed a pitching motion that turned him into one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
Tiant Transforms Boston Red Sox
As Tiant suited up as number 23 for Boston in the 1971 season he played for eight years for the Boston Red Sox, where he had the best years of his career. In 1972, he led the league with an impressive 1.91 ERA, winning 15 out of 21 games, and was named American League Comeback Player of the Year. With players like Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk on offense and Luis Tiant on the pitching staff, the Boston Red Sox were able to make it to the World Series in 1975.
Luis Tiant is one of the Boston Red Sox’s most prized possessions both for his on and off-field presence. His larger-than-life personality won the hearts of many Boston fans with his single that started a six-run rally in game one of the 1975 World Series. The crowd gave him a standing ovation as he sat on first with his blue jacket. He then slid into second and finally on his way to home plate famously missed the plate and went back to tag it. The rally Tiant started in the bottom of the seventh went on to win game one for the Red Sox.
With the Boston Red Sox Luis Tiant had won 20 or more games four times, finishing his career with 229 wins and 172 losses, a final 3.30 ERA. Tiant lands second all-time for Latin American pitchers with 2,416 strikeouts, only behind the pitcher he mentored years later in Boston, the great Pedro Martinez. Tiant went on to play for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the California Angels before calling it quits in 1982. Dedicating his life to baseball he continued to coach minor league baseball years after his major league career was over.
The Legacy Will Live On
“El Tiante” has been a fixture of the Boston Red Sox for the last 50 years. With his Cuban cigar and unmistakable enthusiasm for the game, he has been a fan favorite of the Red Sox for over five decades. The sting of his departure this week will continue to affect the city as he was a major influence on the Boston Red Sox’s popularity not only in the 1970s but an integral influence as an ambassador for Latin-American sports as we know it today.
Tiant’s Cuban culture never left him. He spent years at Fenway Park with his famous Cuban sandwich cart. To many Red Sox fans, he was something they grew up with, a legacy you could meet, in the flesh. With a pre-game Cuban sandwich you could sit and talk with Tiant. A professional athlete who was always colorful and warm, he made himself approachable to everyone.
He spent his final years circling the wagons for the Boston Red Sox both in Boston and Fort Myers. To players and fans alike, there was something special about Luis Tiant off the field that will always be remembered. His heart. He gave everything he had to baseball, the Boston Red Sox, and making the game great. As the legacy continues, Luis Tiant will live on as one of the greatest pitchers of all time but more importantly one of the greatest men to touch Major League Baseball.
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