Luis Tiant, a legendary pitcher for the Boston Red Sox whose career spanned 19 years in Major League Baseball, has passed away. The Red Sox announced that Tiant died at his home in Maine on Tuesday morning. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Tiant, also known as “El Tiante,” was 83 years old. He won 229 games and had a career earned run average of 3.36. Tiant made his major league debut in 1964 with the Cleveland Indians and later played for the Minnesota Twins before spending eight years with the Red Sox. During his time with Boston, he helped lead the team to the World Series in 1975.
After leaving the Red Sox, Tiant played for several other teams including the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and California Angels.
Former teammate Fred Lynn expressed his sadness over Tiant’s passing on Twitter, describing him as a “big game pitcher” and a “funny genuine guy.”
Born in Cuba, Tiant achieved four seasons with at least 20 wins and won the American League ERA title twice. He is a member of both the Red Sox Hall of Fame and Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame.
MLB issued a statement expressing their deep sadness over Tiant’s passing.
In an interview during a celebration of the 1975 Boston Red Sox team, Tiant discussed his unique windup that he adopted in 1972 which contributed to his success as a pitcher.
The Red Sox released statements from their ownership group honoring Tiant’s contributions to the organization throughout his career as both player and coach.
Despite being on multiple Hall of Fame ballots throughout his eligibility period, including consideration on the “Golden Era” ballot, Tiant was not selected for induction into Cooperstown.
Pitcher Tony Perez spoke about how much of an impact Luis had on Cuba during Perez’s childhood when he was considered a national hero there.
In addition to baseball achievements,Titant published an autobiography called “Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to Big Leagues and Back” which detailed both his journey to MLB as well as being separated from family members held captive in Cuba for fifteen years.