Tiant, Luis

Luis Tiant, in full Luis Clemente Tiant Vega, (born November 23, 1940, Marianao, Cuba), professional baseball player who was one of the outstanding pitchers of the 1970s and won more games than any other Cuban-born player, compiling a record of 229 victories and 172 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.30 in 19 major league seasons. His 2,416 strikeouts are the second-most (behind Pedro Martínez) by a pitcher from Latin America, and only two other Latin American pitchers, Dennis Martínez and Juan Marichal, won more games in the major leagues than Tiant.

His father, Luis Tiant, Sr., a left-handed pitcher, was a star player in Cuba and the American Negro leagues during the 1930s and ’40s. The younger, right-handed Tiant played in the Mexican League and American minor leagues for five years before making his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians in 1964. In 1968 he won 21 games and lost 9, struck out 264 batters, pitched 19 complete games and 9 shutouts, and recorded a 1.60 ERA—the lowest in the American League. After six years in Cleveland, Tiant was traded to the Minnesota Twins before the 1970 season. That year, while posting a record of 7 victories and 3 losses, he injured his shoulder and was released by the Twins at the end of the season. Tiant was picked up by the Boston Red Sox, and, ultimately, he was at his best during his eight years with them (1971–78). After winning only a single game and losing 7 in 1971, he rebounded in 1972 with a record of 15 wins and 6 losses, led the league with an ERA of 1.91, and was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year. With Boston, Tiant won 20 or more games on three occasions.

One of the most popular players ever to wear a Red Sox uniform, Tiant attracted a great deal of attention both on and off the field. He was an imposing presence on the mound with his twisting, back-to-the-batter windup and a large assortment of release points for his pitches. He also became a focus of the media, especially during the 1975 World Series, with his ever-present Cuban cigar and pronounced Spanish accent when he spoke in English. Boston lost that series to the Cincinnati Reds. Toward the end of his career, he played two seasons with the New York Yankees and one each with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the California Angels before retiring in 1982. Tiant worked as a pitching coach in the minor leagues for several years after his playing days were over. El Tiante: The Luis Tiant Story (1976; written with Joe Fitzgerald) and Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues and Back (2019; written with Saul Wisnia) are autobiographies.