Hall of Fame pitcher.
Hall of Fame human being.
Best big game starter in Red Sox history.
As a star in Cleveland, he was a flame-throwing ace who recorded league-leading numbers with nine shutouts, hits per nine innings (5.30), an opponent’s batting average (.168 which set a major league season record), and an ERA of 1.60 in 1968 while winning 21 games and striking out 264 batters. Arm trouble saw him lose 20 games the following season before being traded to Minnesota. After the Twins released him during spring training in 1971 he was signed by the Braves to a minor league contract but was soon acquired by the Red Sox top minor league affiliate in Louisville.
It was during his stint with the Colonels that he worked assiduously on creating an entirely new mode of pitching that relied on guile, cunning, and change of speed to baffle hitters. Following a mid-season call up to Boston it was the wisdom of Red Sox General Manager Dick O’Connell and the patience of manager Eddie Kasko that allowed the former All-Star to work through a rough patch of 72 innings in which his EWRA ballooned to 4.88 while winning just one of eight decisions.
The following year he made a complete rebound while nearly leading Boston to a division title with a won ‘lost record of 15-6 and a league-leading 1.91 ERA.
His Red Sox numbers are impressive, a 122-81 won/lost record, 1774 innings pitched, 26 shutouts, and 1075 strikeouts over eight memorable seasons.
But apart from sheer numbers, his starts were performance art, with his that wily wiggle and trademark back turn before the release of his pitches. That magic essential millisecond that had fans mesmerized while disrupting the timing of batters, especially when he froze them with a change of pace. Artistry worthy of his father, a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Artistry, worthy of his father’s contemporary, Satchel Paige. In the midst of the busing crisis, the most popular man in Greater Boston was a Cuban refugee, a gentleman of color, who loved nothing less than smoking his victory cigars in the shower.
My future bride and I attended his last game for the Red Sox on the final day of the 1978 season at Fenway. As a capacity crowd anxiously watched the away game section of the left field scoreboard for news regarding the Cleveland/New York game at Yankee Stadium Tiant dazzled the Blue Jays with a complete game 5-0 shutout while allowing only two hits.
Combined with Rick Waitz complete game 9-2 win over Catfish Hunter in New York, Tiant’s epic performance set the stage for the most dramatic single-game playoff in baseball history.
If only Boston’s rotation had allowed him to make THAT start.
More than one sportswriter when asked which major league pitcher they’d have started the game upon which their life depended chose either Bob Gibson or Luis Tiant. All of which reminds me of the words of poet Robert Frost.
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate.
To know that for destruction ice.
Is also great
And would suffice.
Gracias El Señor
May your memory be an eternal blessing to your friends, family, and legion of fans.
