Luis Tiant Dies at Age 83.

[JimInks]

I'm sad to hear that one of my favorite pitchers as a young man, Luis Tiant, has passed away. We used to have contests trying to imitate his pitching motion; I almost always won. He was a real character with a lot of character. Loved those big cigars that he smoked after a win. His pitching statistics are very similar to "Catfish" Hunter's, who is in the Hall of Fame. It's too bad he was not elected. RIP El Tiante.
Red Sox, Cuban legend Luis Tiant passes away at 83 - https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-tiant-dies

 

[Kobold]

Rip to a great. He’s one that I always think is a hall of famer. A few years ago I got his autograph. Hope I can dig it out and post it here.

 

[camaguey]

Great cuban pitcher. His father was also a pitcher in Cuba. He had a very peculiar style. Great curve ball and great speed. By the way , Luis smoked large vitolas cigars.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

When I tried to mimic his delivery, I'd throw the ball over the backdrop. Great competitor and great character.

 

[litup]

I'm a biased Red Sox fan but it's clear to me that Tiant was, in fact, a little bit better than Catfish Hunter. He just happened to be playing for a franchise that was still cursed while Hunter had the privilege of playing for the A's when they won 3 championships and then the Yankees for two. What a great stretch for Hunter! But individually, Tiant didn't get the credit he deserved. Either that or Catfish got too much credit.

 

[Brendan]

Well worth a read on Cigar Aficionados website of the interview he did back in 2009, I have a copy of that magazine and still recognised his picture after all these years (even though I know nothing of baseball history etc).

He does mention in the interview about the hall of fame, Catfish stat's etc.

Won't link the Cigar Aficionado website in case it violates forum rules, but should be easy to google up.

 

[Sparcdude]

I always loved his wind up. It was said that sooner or later, he’d make eye contact with everyone in the stands!

I wish I could’ve seen him pitch in the ’75 World Series, but I was kind of pre-occupied at Ft. Lost in the Woods, er, Ft Leonard Wood at the time. My son has a picture of him and El Tiante having a beer together. He never saw him pitch beyond highlights, but that didn’t matter to El Tiante. He loved life, people, and cigars!

One of the good guys, and he’ll be missed.

 

[danimalia]

I wasn't aware that Tiant wasn't in the Hall of Fame. He may have suffered a bit from the times when "Wins" was considered an especially important statistic, though again, he outpaces Hunter. I know this isn't fair to Jack Morris to become the new low bar standard (Harold Raines is probably the position player version), but he has a MUCH better case than Morris...

He retired the year I was born, but I loved the footage of that delivery, the great mustache, the awesome name. RIP.

 

[danimalia]

View attachment 340848
I'm a biased Red Sox fan but it's clear to me that Tiant was, in fact, a little bit better than Catfish Hunter. He just happened to be playing for a franchise that was still cursed while Hunter had the privilege of playing for the A's when they won 3 championships and then the Yankees for two. What a great stretch for Hunter! But individually, Tiant didn't get the credit he deserved. Either that or Catfish got too much credit.

I think Catfish probably got a bit too much. Not to put him down or anything, but I think the World Series wins definitely helped him, along with the nickname... My grandfather and uncle used to talk about how hitters would say they had the world's most comfortable 0-4 against Catfish. They'd feel like they saw the ball well, made good contact, and then by the 9th inning, they'd gone 0-4 and lost the game

 

[kcghost]

R.I.P. El Tiante!! He was a truly great pitcher who didn't get enshrined like others. The unfortunate part of failing to win a World Series when others who got in did.

 

[kcghost]

I forgot to mention that Tiant pitched for 19 seasons where Catfish only last fifteen season. And he had a very cool nickname, "Catfish".

 

[craiginthecorn]

Tiant was part of one of the most amazing pitching performances of all time. This sort of thing will likely never happen again

The story behind Nolan Ryan's 235-pitch start

It was 45 years ago Friday that Nolan Ryan pitched a game that, when compared to today’s baseball, feels more like it was from 100 years ago. Taking the mound for the Angels on June 14, 1974, the future Hall of Famer struck out 19 Red Sox hitters over 13

www.mlb.com

 

[JimInks]

Tiant was part of one of the most amazing pitching performances of all time. This sort of thing will likely never happen again

The story behind Nolan Ryan's 235-pitch start

It was 45 years ago Friday that Nolan Ryan pitched a game that, when compared to today’s baseball, feels more like it was from 100 years ago. Taking the mound for the Angels on June 14, 1974, the future Hall of Famer struck out 19 Red Sox hitters over 13

www.mlb.com

It'll happen when you get out of the corn. Seriously, I remember that game because I read about it in the newspapers at the time, and it made the news on TV. Heckuva game.

There's been several games that surpassed that one, innings wise by one pitcher. Notice how long ago some of them were. Pitchers threw a lot of innings in the dead ball era, and as you know, conditions were very different then. But, the Warren Spahn- Juan Marichal game was in the 1960s.

https://jay.typepad.com/william_jay/2005/06/most_innings_pi.html

Brooklyn Dodgers 1, Boston Braves 1 (26 innings) - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Dodgers_1,_Boston_Braves_1_(26_innings)

A Game for the Ages | Baseball Hall of Fame - https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/short-stops/a-game-for-the-ages

Marichal, Spahn and the greatest game ever pitched - https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-marichal-warren-spahn-greatest-game-ever-pitched

 

[craiginthecorn]

It'll happen when you get out of the corn. Seriously, I remember that game because I read about it in the newspapers at the time, and it made the news on TV. Heckuva game.

There's been several games that surpassed that one, innings wise by one pitcher. Notice how long ago some of them were. Pitchers threw a lot of innings in the dead ball era, and as you know, conditions were very different then. But, the Warren Spahn- Juan Marichal game was in the 1960s.

I’m just a little too young to remember seeing Warren Spahn pitch, but, being a Cubs fan, I saw plenty of Juan Marichal. I used to mimic his crazy high leg kick sometimes. Of course, back in those days, there was no interleague play and there were fewer teams, so the Cubs played the Giants fairly often, even though they were in separate divisions starting in 1969. Back then, I would have had no trouble telling you their lineup, 1 through 8, and probably their top four starting pitchers. However, with no interleague play, I didn’t see Luis Tiant much, outside of the playoffs. But I also devoured the Chicago Tribune sports section and Sport Magazine.

It amazes me how pitching has changed during my lifetime. Back in the 60s and 70s, relief pitchers weren’t expected to take over in the 6th inning, as they often do today. The best pitchers, like Fergie Jenkins, almost always pitched complete games. Yet, it seemed like you heard less about arm injuries. Sandy Koufax is a notable exception that comes to mind. And, of course, Tommy John. I suspect the problem is mostly due to the data which has allowed pitchers to increase their velocity and spin rate, plus the emphasis on strikeouts as opposed to weak contact.

 

[Infantry23]

View attachment 340848
I'm a biased Red Sox fan but it's clear to me that Tiant was, in fact, a little bit better than Catfish Hunter. He just happened to be playing for a franchise that was still cursed while Hunter had the privilege of playing for the A's when they won 3 championships and then the Yankees for two. What a great stretch for Hunter! But individually, Tiant didn't get the credit he deserved. Either that or Catfish got too much credit.

I agree. These guys were really before my time, but I could argue that Tiant being on the Red Sox shows that he was better than the numbers simply because the A's and Yankees in the Hunter era were pretty good ball clubs.

 

[JimInks]

I’m just a little too young to remember seeing Warren Spahn pitch, but, being a Cubs fan, I saw plenty of Juan Marichal. I used to mimic his crazy high leg kick sometimes. Of course, back in those days, there was no interleague play and there were fewer teams, so the Cubs played the Giants fairly often, even though they were in separate divisions starting in 1969. Back then, I would have had no trouble telling you their lineup, 1 through 8, and probably their top four starting pitchers. However, with no interleague play, I didn’t see Luis Tiant much, outside of the playoffs. But I also devoured the Chicago Tribune sports section and Sport Magazine.

It amazes me how pitching has changed during my lifetime. Back in the 60s and 70s, relief pitchers weren’t expected to take over in the 6th inning, as they often do today. The best pitchers, like Fergie Jenkins, almost always pitched complete games. Yet, it seemed like you heard less about arm injuries. Sandy Koufax is a notable exception that comes to mind. And, of course, Tommy John. I suspect the problem is mostly due to the data which has allowed pitchers to increase their velocity and spin rate, plus the emphasis on strikeouts as opposed to weak contact.

I could have written this with the exception of not having access to the Chicago Tribune when I was young. Your analysis in your last sentence is on target. Pitchers are told to throw as hard as they can for as long as they can, and not to worry about how many innings they pitch. They don't train pitchers to go six innings or longer any more. All that extra wear and tear from all of that ruins arms at a higher rate than ever. You even see high schoolers get Tommy John surgery.

I agree that fewer pitchers dealt with sore arms during the 60s and 70s, but I would note that it wasn't publicized as much back then either, unless you played for a big market team. Koufax with an arthritic elbow was over used, and had his career ruined as a result. Can you imagine how they would treat him in today's game?

 

[Hutch Piper]

Great book.

 

[litup]

I could have written this with the exception of not having access to the Chicago Tribune when I was young. Your analysis in your last sentence is on target. Pitchers are told to throw as hard as they can for as long as they can, and not to worry about how many innings they pitch. They don't train pitchers to go six innings or longer any more. All that extra wear and tear from all of that ruins arms at a higher rate than ever. You even see high schoolers get Tommy John surgery.

I agree that fewer pitchers dealt with sore arms during the 60s and 70s, but I would note that it wasn't publicized as much back then either, unless you played for a big market team. Koufax with an arthritic elbow was over used, and had his career ruined as a result. Can you imagine how they would treat him in today's game?

I think you've touched on the problem. When you have kids in middle school who only care about velocity and that pressure just picks up steam with travel ball and showcases, it's no wonder we see so many young guys going under the knife before they even sniff the major leagues.

It's weird to me how we live in an age where data, science, and technology can help athletes optimize pitching but we haven't figured out how to prevent serious injury to their arms. Or maybe they have and they simply don't care because the benefits of short-term success outweigh the negatives of an 18-month TJ recovery.

 

[JimInks]

I think you've touched on the problem. When you have kids in middle school who only care about velocity and that pressure just picks up steam with travel ball and showcases, it's no wonder we see so many young guys going under the knife before they even sniff the major leagues.

It's weird to me how we live in an age where data, science, and technology can help athletes optimize pitching but we haven't figured out how to prevent serious injury to their arms. Or maybe they have and they simply don't care because the benefits of short-term success outweigh the negatives of an 18-month TJ recovery.

Check out this story about Tommy John surgeries.
How "Tommy John surgery" changed our national pastime - https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-tommy-john-surgery-changed-our-national-pastime/

 

[newbroom]

I remember a game when (it must have been the world series because Luis was having to run the bases if he got on, and ...he did.) That was hilarious. I can't remember is he was safe or out, but I seem to recall that he overran second and scrambled to get back and it was like watching a Little Leaguer run the bases.
I've been to Fenway a few times, but never when Tiante was pitching.
The bat in this picture broke off right at the black tape one day during softball practice. The ball did clear the fence while the barrel traveled into left field.