With deep sadness, the MLB universe got some unwanted news on Tuesday.
Former pitching star Luis Tiant passed away at 83 years old.
Tiant was one of the league’s finest pitchers in the sixties and seventies, and wore the Cleveland Guardians uniform (then Indians) from the year of his MLB debut in 1964 to 1969.
He made the 1968 All-Star team, when he won 21 games and posted a 1.60 ERA in 258.1 innings that year.
He also finished fifth in the AL MVP voting that season.
In the six seasons he has in Cleveland, Tiant posted an incredible 2.84 ERA and won 75 games.
Not too shabby.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Luis Tiant.
In 1968, Tiant won the AL ERA title and represented CLE in the All-Star game. In 2001, he was named a member of our Top 100 team.
Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and the baseball community.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/FjPcWjhUfB
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 8, 2024
Tiant then became an MLB legend with the Boston Red Sox in the seventies and also had stints in Minnesota, New York, Pittsburgh and California.
Tiant was always a supremely talented pitcher, but it’s important to point out that he took his first steps in America with Cleveland.
The organization should be proud to say that they had a hand in the development of one of the best and most decorated pitchers of the sixties and seventies.
Tiant is, according to MLB Trade Rumors, one of the best players ever to be excluded from the Hall of Fame.
“Over 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, he never received close to enough support to reach the 75% threshold necessary for election. He has since fallen short on several committee ballots. While he never won any major awards and only earned three All-Star selections throughout his career, modern statistics make it clear that Tiant was underappreciated in his time,” they wrote.
Tiant was one of the most talented hurlers ever to represent Cleveland.
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