Luis Tiant, Boston Red Sox legend known as ‘El Tiante’, dies at 83
Luis Tiant, the Cuban-born ace with a unique performance who twice led the American League in ERA and pitched a shutout for the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 World Series, has died, according to the Red Sox. He was 83 years old.
El Tiante, as he was known, was an icon in Cuba long before he made his name in the Major Leagues, and he is among the game’s most talented pitchers not to be elected to the Hall of Fame. With a trademark excitement that had him turning his back on the batter, Tiant overcame injuries to record 49 career shutouts, 229 wins and 2,416 strikeouts.
“When the chips are on the line,” Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer once said“Luis Tiant is the greatest competitor I have ever seen.”
Tiant was the son of Negro Leagues great and Cuban Leagues pitcher Luis Tiant Sr., and he made a name for himself in Cuba and Mexico before signing with the Cleveland Indians in 1961. Joining the big league club in 1964, Tiant was an immediate success, becoming a mainstay for the Indians and leading the league in ERA in 1968 in what ranks as one of the greatest pitching seasons of all time. Only three pitchers have allowed fewer hits per nine innings since then.
However, injuries threatened to derail Tiant’s career in his late 20s. He was traded in 1969 and then released in 1971. He joined the Red Sox for what would become a defining second chapter. In 1972, he again led the American League in ERA, and he made his second and third All-Star teams in 1974 and 1976. In between, he helped the Red Sox win the American League pennant in 1975, winning Game 1 of the ALCS. and pitching two complete games against the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. Facing the iconic Big Red Machine, Tiant pitched a shutout in Game 1, and the Red Sox won each of his three World Series starts, including his less dominant Game 6 that ended with Carlton’s Fisk’s iconic wave-it-fair home run.
In eight seasons with the Red Sox, Tiant won 20 games three times. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997 and was a regular with the team, especially during spring training, where he dutifully drove a golf cart from field to field every morning.
Tiant was on the Hall of Fame ballot for fifteen years, but never generated more than 30.9 percent of the vote. Still, he remained a legendary pitcher from Cuba to New England.
‘When I was a boy growing up in Cuba’ Hall of Famer Tony Pérez once said“Luis Tiant was a national hero.”
(Top photo of Luis Tiant during his time with the Red Sox: MLB via Getty Images)
