Luis Tiant, a legendary pitcher whose career spanned 19 seasons, has died at the age of 83 according to WBZ News Boston.
Tiant was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era – playing baseball in MLB from 1964-1982. His longest stint with any one team came with the Boston Red Sox from 1971-1978.
Nicknamed ‘El Tiante’, Tiant was a three-time All-Star and led the American League in ERA in both 1968 and 1972.
He’s a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
Born in Cuba, Tiant began his MLB career in 1964 with the Cleveland Indians after playing baseball at home and in Mexico.
Legendary MLB pitcher Luis Tiant, best known for his tenure in Boston, has died at age 83
Luis Tiant, seen at Boston Red Sox training camp in Fort Myers, Florida in 2024
His debut was the stuff of legend – beginning his MLB career with a four-hit, eleven strikeout shutout over the New York Yankees.
Tiant earned his first All-Star appearance after his dominant 1968 season – one of the best pitching campaigns in MLB history.
He led the American League in ERA (1.60), shutouts (nine), hits-per-nine-innings (5.30, still a franchise record), and strikeouts-per-nine-innings (9.22) while finishing with a 21-9 record. Despite this, he lost the Cy Young Award to Detroit’s Denny McLain.
After struggling with injuries the following season, Tiant was traded to the Minnesota Twins in a multi-player deal that sent Dean Chance and Graig Nettles to Cleveland.
His one season in Minnesota started off strong with six wins, but ended prematurely with a fracture to his right scapula – ending his season.
After making a recovery, he returned to spring training in 1971 but was released by the Twins.
The Atlanta Braves signed him to a minor league contract with their Triple-A team in Richmond before being acquired by the Louisville Colonels – a farm team of the Red Sox.
Boston soon promoted him to finish out 1971 in the majors, but he struggled to end the season.
His 1972 campaign saw him return to his old form with a 15-6 season where he tossed six shutouts in 19 starts – while leading the AL in ERA with a 1.91.
Tiant won 20 games in 1973 and 22 games in 1974 – a season where he made his second All-Star appearance.
His best postseason performance came in 1975 after winning 18 games in the regular season
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