Luis Tiant was a big-time pitcher with a big-time personality. His one-of-a-kind windup defied description. His delivery baffled hitters. His ever-smoldering cigar became a facial feature. Opponents respected him; teammates and fans loved him.
Tiant died Oct. 8 at his home in Maine. He was 83.
“El Tiante” was an icon in New England, the pitching star of the power-hitting 1970s Red Sox. He helped define an era of spectacular but ultimately disappointing seasons that failed to end the suffering of Red Sox Nation. Boston’s last World Series championship was in 1918.
He arrived in Boston in 1971 after six decent years in Cleveland (75-64) and one season in Minnesota (7-3). He was 1-7 in his first year with the Red Sox, but from 1972 through 1978 he was an ace — his eight-year total with Boston was 122-81. He won 86 games from 1973 through 1976.
Most impressive of his career stats: 187 complete games in 484 starts. That’s 38%. We’ll never see that again in this age of analytics and five-inning starts.
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
