Luis Tiant, whose twisting windup helped him win 229 games in a 19-year major league career, has died. He was 83.
The Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians confirmed the right-hander’s death on Tuesday.
‘We are deeply saddened by the loss of Luis Tiant,’ the Red Sox said in a statement on X. ‘Anyone who met him, on or off the mound, knew he was a true force. A fixture of Fenway and Fort Myers well beyond his playing days, El Tiante was family. We send our love to his wife, Maria, their children, and grandchildren.’
The Cuban born Tiant was a four-time 20-game winner, three-time All-Star and led the American League twice in ERA – 1.60 in 1968 with Cleveland and 1.91 in 1972 in Boston, where he became a legend and fan favorite, helping lead the Red Sox to the 1975 World World.
That season, he won 18 games with a 4.02 ERA after winning 20 games (3.34 ERA) in 1973 and 22 game in ’74 with a 2.92 ERA. In the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Tiant won two of his three starts, winning Games 1 and 4, both complete game efforts, and got a no-decision in Game 6, which Boston won on Carlton Fisk’s home run in the 12th inning.
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Tiant went 21-12 with a 3.06 ERA in 1976. Over eight seasons with the Red Sox, he went 122-81 with a 3.36 ERA and earning All-Star nods in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997.
Tiant’s other 20 win season came 1968, when he went 21-9. He struck out 2,416 batters and finished his career with a 3.30 ERA in 573 appearances (484 starts).
Tiant pitched for Cleveland (1964-69), Minnesota (1970), Boston (1971-78), the New York Yankees (1979-80), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1981) and the California Angels (1982).
In 15 years on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, Tiant never received more than the 30.9% of the vote he got on his first year of eligibility in 1988 and missed induction while on six committee ballots.
Fellow Cuban players Tony Oliva and Orestes ‘Minnie’ Miñoso were elected to the Hall of Fame by the the Early Days committee in 2021. The last time Tiant was on a committee ballot was in 2018.
‘I’ve told my sons, ‘don’t worry, don’t get emotional that you don’t see my name,’ ‘ Tiant told USA TODAY in 2021 of not being elected to the Hall of Fame. ‘The day they want to put me in, put me in. Hopefully, I won’t be dead.’
Reuters contributed to this report..
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