Former Twins Pitcher and Longtime Great Luis Tiant Dead at 83

[Matthew Trueblood]

It was a star-crossed stopover during an illustrious career, which is a shame. Luis Tiant was one of the giants of the game during his time, and briefly, he twirled for the Twins.

Image courtesy of © Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Luis Tiant, the 19-year MLB veteran whose poignant life story and vivid style of pitching made him one of the central characters in the greatest single-game drama in the sport's history, passed away Tuesday at age 83.

In an alternate universe where the sport came to a better understanding of the nature and prognosis of pitching injuries much earlier, Tiant might be remembered not for his heroics with the 1970s Red Sox--culminating in a great start in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series--but as the ace of the Twins during the same period. Instead, his legacy among Twins fans is as one piece of the regrettable trade in which Minnesota dealt away eventual great Graig Nettles and got long-term value back.

Tiant had dealt with a sore elbow late in his time with Cleveland, for whom he pitched most of a decade to begin his MLB career. With the Twins, what we would now diagnose as a stress fracture in his shoulder derailed his 1970 season. Back then, pitchers still in their 20s who came up with arm injuries in consecutive seasons were thought to be damaged goods, and all the blame for their inability to perform at their best tended to fall on the players.

Tiant pitched fewer than 100 innings in a Twins uniform. When he suffered what we would now diagnose as an oblique strain in the spring of 1971, Calvin Griffith grew so impatient with the hurler that the team released him outright. The owner went so far as to openly proclaim his belief that Tiant was done--washed up. By the end of that season, it would be painfully obvious how wrong he was. Tiant briefly pitched in the Atlanta organization, then landed with the Red Sox, for whom he made 21 appearances to finish the campaign. The results were mixed, but the signals were encouraging. The next year, Tiant won his second AL ERA title.

Over the next decade, Tiant won 20 or more games for Boston three times, and hung on in the majors past age 40. He pitched 2,193 innings in the majors after Griffith pronounced him professionally dead, and he did it all with ebullience, intensity, and a twisting, deceptive delivery that made him even more famous than his superb performances would have assured.

Tiant is one of the great "what-if" people in Twins history. He was exceptionally good for many years on either side of his one-year stint with the team, but things couldn't have panned out worse for the two parties when they happened upon each other. Sometimes, baseball is like that. In this case, though, all the fault falls to the Twins, who weren't a smart outfit at the time. Even with his tepid contributions, Tiant's 1970 team won 98 games and their second straight AL West championship--but that would be the last time they finished higher than third until 1984.

Still a folk hero and favorite visitor to Red Sox spring training throughout his later years, Tiant was an emblem of the vivacity Latin American players brought to the game in the 1960s and the personality and individual flair players began to demonstrate around that time, transforming the culture of the game for the better. He didn't get to give much of that illuminating effort to the Twins, but he left an indelible impression on the game as a whole.

View full article

[mikelink45]

One of many misses by the organization over the years.  His pitching motion was so unique.  Loved to watch him work.   229 wins when we valued wins and pitchers actually started and finished their games.  He completed 187.  His ERA 3:30, his whip 1.199.  66.1 WAR.  He deserved more attention.

[BillyBallLives]

As a 10 year old fan, found out where he lived and knocked on his door for an autograph....he signed the book with a smile. Great guy! 

He lived in those apartments straight back from center field behind The Met. Hard to believe players back then were that accessible. 

[BillyBallLives]

Wow, in Tiant's year with the Twins he hit .406.

32 at bats, 13 hits, 4 doubles, only 6 Ks

 

 

[DJL44]

Deserving of the Hall of Fame. I felt bad when Kaat was announced and not Tiant.

[Blyleven2011]

Ex twin luis tiant  ....

Great years of watching him  , gone but not forgotten  ...

RIP El tiante  ...

I think he might be on the committees list for hall of fame in January  , tiant with his pitching style and years of production  should be in the HOF   , REMEMBER  wins don't count anymore , it's how you play the game and he pitched with style ...

[Blyleven2011]

2 hours ago, BillyBallLives said:

Wow, in Tiant's year with the Twins he hit .406.

32 at bats, 13 hits, 4 doubles, only 6 Ks

 

 

Yep ,  some pitchers could really hit , I was sad when the NL added the DH and no more hitting pitchers , loved to see a pitcher hit and win the game for himself by hitting a HR  ,  I think Thor  was the last one to do it , shutout opposition and hit a homerun  , won it with his arm and bat  ,  ohtani  pitches and hits , or did with California  ...

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Posthumous Hall of Fame admission is a must. 

[TopGunn#22]

I was 10 years old when Tiant won his first A.L. ERA title in 1968 with a 1.60 ERA.  He was phenomenal that season but was over shadowed by Bob Gibson's historic 1968 season in the N.L. and Denny McClain's 30 win season in the A.L.

The Twins were an extremely poorly run ballclub in those days.  Not only did we see the decline of Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew beginning in 1972, but we also saw Jim Kaat get the same treatment as Tiant.  

In 1969, after the tremendous season Tiant had in 1968, on a poor Cleveland team, he went 9-20 with a 3.71 ERA.  He also threw 250 innings that season and in starting 37 games gave up 37 HR's.  His arm clearly wasn't right and he got by on guts and guile.  Still, the Twins sensed an opportunity and traded for him, giving up Graig Nettles, Dean Chance and Ted Uhlaender for Tiant and Stan Williams.  Williams was outstanding for the Twins in 1970 going 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA as the set up guy for Ron Perranoski.  Tiant only threw 84 innings for the Twins but went 7-3.  

Kaat, on the other hand was having a great 1972 season going 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA before coming up with an arm issue.  The Twins didn't have the patience to wait for either Tiant or Kaat to get healthy and let both pitchers go.  So in 1972 Tiant went 15-6 for the Red Sox and won his 2nd A.L. ERA crown at 1.91.  He then went on to be a 20 game winner and the Ace of the Red Sox throughout the 70's.  Kaat went on to win 20 games in two seasons for White Sox in the 70's.  Imagine a pitching staff with Tiant, Kaat, an emerging Bert Blyleven and Dave Goltz in the 70's for a club that had hitters like Rod Carew, Lyman Bostock, Larry Hisle and others.  

Tiant belongs in the HOF.  Just wish he could have been alive to experience it.