The legendary former Cuban pitcher Luis Tiant, who showed his talent for 19 seasons in the Major Leagues, died this Tuesday at the age of 83.
The information was released by the MLB, who expressed their sadness at the death of “El Tiante”, as the stellar Cuban pitcher was known.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Luis Tiant,” says the statement published by the MLB.
The Cleveland Guardians, former Indians, with whom Tiant played during his time as a player, also expressed their sadness at the physical loss of the dominant pitcher born in Marianao, who was recognized as part of the best 100 players in the history of the team.
In 1968, Tiant won the American League ERA title and represented Cleveland in the All-Star Game.
“In 2001, he was named a member of our Top 100 team. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and the baseball community,” the Cleveland team said on their social networks.
Passage through the Majors
During his time in the Major Leagues, in addition to pitching for the Cleveland team, Tiant wore the jersey of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Anaheim Angels.
During this tour he won 20 or more games on four occasions (21 in 1968, 20 in 1963, 22 in 1974 and 21 in 1976), won the ERA title in the 1968 (1.60) and 1972 (1.91) campaigns and participated in three editions of the All-Star Games (1968, 1974 and 1976).
Tiant finished three times in the top six in voting for the Cy Young Award, which distinguishes the best pitcher of the season, in the American League and on two occasions he was in the top eight for the Most Valuable Player award.
special move
Recognized for his rotating movement when pitching from the mound, in this journey of almost two decades exhibiting the quality and dominance of his pitching in the Major Leagues, the Cuban star left a regular series record of 229 victories and 172 losses, accompanied by a 3.30 earned run percentage allowed in 573 games, 484 of them as a starter, in which he recorded 3,486.1 innings pitched, in which he struck out 2,416 batters.
In the postseason he also achieved a positive record, posting a 3-0 record, with a percentage of earned runs allowed of 2.86, in five appearances, in which he compiled 34.2 innings, with 20 batters retired by strikeout.
Despite his historical records and the claims of his former teammates and rivals, Tiant has not been chosen to the Major League Hall of Fame, causing him discontent, which led him to express that if he were not inducted in life, He did not want to be chosen to enter baseball immortality after his death.
Havana / EFE
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