Wednesday, 30 November 2011 15:14
Luis Tiant
For many years already Cubans have played an important role in the country where the best baseball is played, in the United States of America. One of the first exported players was Esteban Bellán, and since then hundreds of Cubans have followed. Today, I would like to tell you about one of them, who in his hometown Havana as well as in his adoptive city of Boston is a personality, a living legend of baseball. I refer to the Havanan Luis Clemente Tiant Vega.
Son of another famous Cuban pitcher of the same name who played in the black leagues of the United States between 1926-1948, Luis. Jr. inherited of his father experience, abilities and the love for baseball, which he started playing at a very young age and always with very good results. Playing for the “Leones de Habana” he was awarded the “Novato del Año” (“New Player of the Year”) during the last baseball season in Cuba. He got a professional contract with the “Tigres” of Mexico City in 1959, playing at the same time for the “Cuban Sugar Kings”.
In 1964 he started to play at the Big Tent with the “Cleveland Indians”. After only two days he shut out the “New York Yankees” at their own stadium: he allowed only 4 hits and peaked 11. During this period his performance was very good, for example in 1968 he won 21 games with an enviable average of clean sheets of 1.68. He then suffered from several injuries and was transferred to the “Minnesota Twins”, later to the ninth Triple A of the “Boston Red Sox”. In 1971 he was promoted and turned into one of their best openers and became a role model for many people in Boston. He achieved 142 triumphs during the regular season and won an average of 15 games per year.
Luis Tiant then signed a contract as free agent with the “New York Yankees” for two seasons, with a record of 21-17. Later this right-handed pitcher played for the “Pittsburgh Pirates” (1981) and the “Angels” of Los Angeles (1982).
Thanks to his exploits and fabulous numbers, Luis Tiant is listed in the Halls of Fame of Cuban Sports in Miami, the one of the “Boston Red Sox”, in the Hall of Fame of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and since 2009 in the Hall of Fame of Venezuelan Baseball. This “Fred Astair of Pitchers”, as the great Reggie Jackson called him, now waits for the decision of the 16 members of the Veteran’s Committee who will chose the new players to join the Hall of Fame of Cooperstown; among the nominees there are other Cuban baseball legends: Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso and Antonio "Tony" Oliva.
Luis Tiant visited Cuba in 2007, where for many people he keeps being the best pitcher born on the island and according to his own words, he was able to “talk with fans who gather to discuss about baseball and in this moment I was the happiest man on Earth, realizing that they know my story. I was caught by the human warmth of these people.”
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