BOSTON — Luis Tiant, the charismatic Cuban with a horseshoe mustache and mesmerizing windup who pitched the Purple Sox to the brink of a World Collection championship and pitched himself to the doorstep of the baseball Corridor of Fame, has died. He was 83.
Main League Baseball introduced his loss of life in a submit on X on Tuesday, and the Purple Sox confirmed that he died at his dwelling in Maine.
“As we speak is a really unhappy day,” Fred Lynn, a teammate in each Boston and California, posted on X. “A Huge recreation pitcher, a humorous real man who cherished his household and baseball. I miss him already.”
With a swaggering fashion and an iconic wiggling windup that froze batters within the field, “El Tiante” was a three-time All-Star and four-time 20-game winner whose best particular person season got here with Cleveland in 1968, when he went 21-9 with 19 full video games and 9 shutouts — 4 of them in a row. His 1.60 ERA was the perfect within the AL in half a century and he completed fifth in AL Most Precious Participant voting; 31-game winner Denny McLain received it, in addition to the league’s Cy Younger Award.
These performances, together with Bob Gibson’s 1.12 ERA within the NL, earned 1968 the nickname “Yr of the Pitcher” and helped persuade baseball to decrease the pitching mound to provide batters extra of an opportunity. Regardless of, Tiant once more received the AL ERA title with a 1.91 mark in 1972, for the Purple Sox (and misplaced the Cy Younger to Gaylord Perry’s 1.92 ERA and 24 wins).
“Luis embodied every part we love about this recreation: resilience, ardour, and an simple sense of belonging to one thing better than himself,” Purple Sox Chairman Tom Werner stated. “However what made Luis unforgettable was his vibrant character. He was a gifted storyteller, at all times sharing tales crammed with humor, honesty, and an everlasting loyalty to his teammates. All of us are deeply saddened by his passing. We misplaced one of many nice ones in the present day.”
The son of a Negro Leagues star, the youthful Tiant was 229-172 in all with a 3.30 ERA and a pair of,416 strikeouts. He had 187 full video games and 47 shutouts in a 19-year profession spent largely with Cleveland and the Purple Sox.
His loss of life comes one week after that of all-time baseball hits chief Pete Rose, whose Cincinnati Reds confronted Tiant’s Purple Sox within the 1975 World Collection — nonetheless thought-about one of many best matchups in baseball postseason historical past.
Tiant shut out the Reds in Recreation 1, threw 155 pitches in one other full recreation victory in Recreation 4 and was again on the mound for eight innings in Recreation 6, which Boston received on Carlton Fisk’s dwelling run within the backside of the twelfth. The ’75 Collection, which Cincinnati received in seven video games, is commonly cited as the best of all time.
It was additionally a nationwide coming-out celebration for Tiant’s distinctive supply, through which he would wiggle his fingers as he got here to the set place, then flip his again to the batter earlier than throwing. The movement could be imitated by generations of youngsters in New England and throughout the nation, however Tiant himself was unmatched.
“Luis had the type of unforgettable presence that made you’re feeling such as you had been a part of his world,” Purple Sox proprietor John Henry stated. “He channeled every part into his love for the sport and the folks round him. He was magnetic and had a smile that would mild up Fenway Park.”
After he retired in 1982, Tiant labored as a minor league coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox and was the pitching coach for Nicaragua on the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He remained lively with the Purple Sox in spring coaching and was seen round Fenway Park, usually signing autographs earlier than the sport on the ballpark’s El Tiante Cuban sandwich stand.
Tiant was inducted into the Boston Purple Sox Corridor of Fame however by no means made the nationwide shrine in Cooperstown, New York, receiving a excessive of 30.9% of the votes in 1988, his first 12 months on the poll. He was additionally thought-about and rejected by veterans committees thrice.
“Powerful day to listen to of Luis Tiant passing away. A former participant we cherished coming into the clubhouse,” former Purple Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis tweeted. “At all times joking round with that infectious giggle and saying ‘Man you a sick pet!’ Without end grateful for the time shared with a legend. Could his reminiscence be a blessing!”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
