WHY I THINK LUIS TIANT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK LUIS TIANT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Luis Tiant pitched from 1964 through 1982, most notably with the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. He sometimes gets overlooked on account of his reputation as a legendary smoker, his odd pitching motion, and for the weird path of his career. Tiant seems to have had two peaks - from 1964 through 1968, and from 1972 through 1976. The three seasons in between were riddled with injuries, and it is a wonder how quickly and effectively he came back from them. Luis Tiant began his MLB career with the Indians in 1964, going 10-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 19 games. He was used more increasingly in relief, and in 1966 he led the Majors with five shutouts despite making only 16 starts. In 1968, Tiant had his best season to date, when he went 21-9 and led the AL with a microscopic ERA of 1.60. In 1969, however, Tiant slumped to 9-20 for a crummy Indians team that won only 62 games. He pitched in 1970 for the Twins, and the Red Sox got him in 1971. By 1972, Tiant seemed to have regained his old form, as he won 15 games and led the Majors in ERA. He then won 20 or more games in three of the next four seasons. He was a big part of the Red Sox’s pennant winner in 1975, as he won 18 games in the regular season, one in the LCS, and two in the World Series. Tiant had three more quality seasons with the Red Sox and the Yankees, but fell to 8-9 in 1980. He pitched for parts of the next two seasons before calling it quits. Luis Tiant was one of the greatest overall pitchers of the 1960’s and 1970’s, quite feared by batters, and quite loved by the fans. In Boston, there is an ongoing push for his induction, and just about every Red Sox fan wants to see him in the Hall of Fame. He would be a good choice. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 573 season high: 46 in 1966 

Starts career: 484 season high: 38 in 1974 and 1976 

Complete Games career: 187 season high: 25 in 1974 

Shutouts career: 49 season high: 9 in 1968 led AL: 5 in 1966, 9 in 1968, 7 in 1974 

Games Finished career: 51 season high: 22 in 1966 

Wins career: 229 season high: 22 in 1974 

Losses career: 172 season high: 20 in 1969 led AL: 20 in 1969 

Winning Percentage career: .571 season high: .714 in 1972 

ERA career: 3.30 season low: 1.60 in 1968 led AL: 1.60 in 1968, 1.91 in 1972 

WHIP career: 1.199 season low: 0.871 in 1968 led AL: 1.085 in 1973 

Innings Pitched career: 3,486 ⅓ season high: 311 ⅓ in 1974 

Strikeouts career: 2,416 season high: 264 in 1968 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 6.2 season high: 9.2 in 1967 and 1968 led AL: 9.2 in 1967 

Walks career: 1,104 (53 intentional) season high: 129 in 1969 led AL: 129 in 1969 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 2.19 season high: 3.62 in 1968 

Saves career: 15 season high: 8 in 1966 

Fielding Percentage career: .946 season high: 1.000 in 1977 and 1978 led AL P: 1.000 in 1977 and 1978 

Double Plays career: 31 season high: 4 in 1973 and 1976 

Putouts career: 221 season high: 22 in 1969 and 1974 

Assists career: 389 season high: 34 in 1976 

Caught Stealing Percentage career: .399 season high: 1.000 in 1968 

Pickoffs career: 28 season high: 5 in 1975 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-son of Negro League star Luis Tiant 

-nicknamed “El Tiante” in Boston 

-pitched a shutout and struck out 11 batters on his MLB debut 

-set MLB records for batting average against (.168) and hits per nine innings (5.3) in 1968 

-finished fifth in the AL MVP Award voting in 1968, eighth in 1972, 11th in 1974, and 26th in 1976 

-finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 1974, fifth in 1976, and sixth in 1972 

-was the 1972 AL Comeback Player of the Year 

-won the AL Babe Ruth Award in 1975 

-won two AL Player of the Week awards and one Player of the Month award 

-had a career ERA of 3.00 in three career all-star games (1968, 1974, and 1976) 

-shut out the Reds in Game 1 of the 1975 World Series and threw 163 pitches in Game 4, another complete game victory 

-struck out 19 batters in ten innings on July 3, 1968 

-hurled four consecutive shutouts in 1968 

-his 23 complete games in 1973 are the most in MLB history without a shutout 

-batted .406 in 1970 and had 11 sacrifices in 1968 

-ranks 21st in career shutouts and 48th in strikeouts 

-was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997, the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011, and Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals in 2012