The Legend of “El Tiante”

There were many ways for Luis Tiant to be great on the mound—he could be great even before he threw a ball.

With a lightning-fast pickoff move, the pitcher threw to first base to try to catch the runner. The Red Sox fans whispered in the majestic Fenway Park, certain that the runner had been caught. First baseman Cecil Cooper raised his arms and did not feel satisfied with the call by first base umpire Nick Colosi.

The runner was the unbeatable Joe Morgan, who took some time to dust off his uniform after diving into first base. The next pickoff attempt unleashed a controversial balk called by Colosi, which made the Boston fans roar again.

In the first two innings of the game the Red Sox had left four runners wandering around the bases at Fenway Park. The timely swing hit had not come in time in Game 1 of the 1975 World Series to offer an advantage on the scoreboard against the unbeatable Cincinnati Reds, the best team in baseball.

The Red Sox were looking to end a 56-year drought without winning the World Series. So, every missed opportunity against the Red Machine meant, in terms of projections, a step back in the race to win a World Series ring.

However, it was only the top of the fourth inning that was played. And, in the center of the diamond, the Red Sox had placed all their trust in their ace, Cuban right-hander Luis Tiant. After a year of struggles, especially during the second half of the season (6-6, 4.10 ERA) and after going through the worst summer of his career, Tiant was ready to face the big stage of the postseason.

A few months shy of turning 35, after 12 seasons and 314 starts in the Majors, Tiant was finally ready to face the first postseason start of his career. Tiant had led a 7-1 victory for the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALCS against the legendary Oakland Athletics. The pitching gem was a classic El Tiante-style game: he pitched all nine innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run. He struck out eight opponents and walked just three. His Game Score of 84 points was only surpassed by the 86 points from his start on September 11 that year, when he threw nine innings with three hits allowed, one earned run and 10 strikeouts in the Red Sox's 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.

When the Red Sox needed him most, El Tiante's greatness was back. However, the road to recovery was long and tortuous. But Tiant never gave up. His perseverance had already signed chapters of glory since his debut with Cleveland when he struck out 11 batters and blanked the New York Yankees on July 19, 1964. Tiant held the Yankees to four singles. In the first eight innings, he struck out at least one batter, including two against Roger Maris.

When the 1975 Fall Classic began, it had been 11 years since that sensational debut. Tiant was no longer the imposing pitcher of those early days, but he overcame the challenges of time and became a wizard on the mound. Still, at 34, Tiant was seen by many as a veteran whose career was on the wane. After his injury in 1969, he was never the same.

There were reasonable signs. By 1975, Tiant had recorded three of his four seasons with at least 20 wins. Expecting similar success was the least of his projections after 12 years. He had done almost everything impossible for a pitcher who struggled on teams with little hope of winning a World Series ring.

Tiante twice led the American League in ERA and shutouts. He did it first at age 27 when he pitched to a 21-9 record and 1.60 ERA in 1968. That year, the Cleveland Indians finished 16 ½ games behind the Detroit Tigers, who led the league with a 103-59 record.

Luis also led the league in 1968 with nine shutouts, including four in a row (one shy of the record set by Doc White of the White Sox in 1904). Tiant beat the Twins 4-0 on May 3, four days later he shut out the Yankees 8-0, and on May 12 he shut out Baltimore on four hits in a 4-0 victory.

He did all that in just nine days.