Biographical

Portrait of Luis Tiant

Luis Tiant PRed Sox

Red Sox Player Cards | Red Sox Team Audit | Red Sox Depth Chart

Career Summary
Years G IP W L SV ERA WARP
19 573 3486.3 229 172 15 3.30 41.5
Birth Date11-23-1940
Height5' 11"
Weight190 lbs
Age83 years, 5 months, 2 days
BatsR
ThrowsR
WARP Summary

MLB Statistics

Historical (past-seasons) WARP is now based on DRA..
cFIP and DRA are not available on a by-team basis and display as zeroes(0). See TOT line for season totals of these stats.
Multiple stints are are currently shown —Click to hide.
YEAR Team Lg G GS IP W L SV H BB SO HR PPF H/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/9 GB% BABIP WHIP FIP ERA cFIP DRA DRA- WARP
1964 CLE MLB 19 16 127.0 10 4 1 94 47 105 13 99 6.7 3.3 0.9 7.4 0% .235 1.11 3.29 2.83 105 3.69 90.9 1.8
1965 CLE MLB 41 30 196.3 11 11 1 166 66 152 20 97 7.6 3.0 0.9 7.0 0% .256 1.18 3.23 3.53 98 3.22 80.7 3.6
1966 CLE MLB 46 16 155.0 12 11 8 121 50 145 16 101 7.0 2.9 0.9 8.4 0% .253 1.10 2.91 2.79 88 2.77 69.3 3.5
1967 CLE MLB 33 29 213.7 12 9 2 177 67 219 24 101 7.5 2.8 1.0 9.2 0% .273 1.14 2.78 2.74 83 2.74 72.7 4.6
1968 CLE MLB 34 32 258.3 21 9 0 152 73 264 16 93 5.3 2.5 0.6 9.2 0% .216 0.87 1.88 1.60 76 1.84 53.8 7.5
1969 CLE MLB 38 37 249.7 9 20 0 229 129 156 37 98 8.3 4.7 1.3 5.6 0% .252 1.43 4.68 3.71 129 5.57 136.3 -2.7
1970 MIN MLB 18 17 92.7 7 3 0 84 41 50 12 101 8.2 4.0 1.2 4.9 0% .253 1.35 4.42 3.40 117 4.42 101.5 0.7
1971 BOS MLB 21 10 72.3 1 7 0 73 32 59 8 115 9.1 4.0 1.0 7.3 0% .294 1.45 3.53 4.85 100 3.64 93.2 0.7
1972 BOS MLB 43 19 179.0 15 6 3 128 65 123 7 105 6.4 3.3 0.4 6.2 0% .234 1.08 2.48 1.91 105 3.67 99.6 1.2
1973 BOS MLB 35 35 272.0 20 13 0 217 78 206 32 106 7.2 2.6 1.1 6.8 0% .239 1.08 3.53 3.34 95 2.80 66.3 6.5
1974 BOS MLB 38 38 311.3 22 13 0 281 82 176 21 108 8.1 2.4 0.6 5.1 0% .264 1.17 3.14 2.92 96 3.35 81.1 5.1
1975 BOS MLB 35 35 260.0 18 14 0 262 72 142 25 109 9.1 2.5 0.9 4.9 0% .283 1.28 3.58 4.02 103 4.42 104.7 1.2
1976 BOS MLB 38 38 279.0 21 12 0 274 64 131 25 106 8.8 2.1 0.8 4.2 0% .273 1.21 3.56 3.06 106 3.97 99.5 2.0
1977 BOS MLB 32 32 188.7 12 8 0 210 51 124 26 115 10.0 2.4 1.2 5.9 0% .301 1.38 4.05 4.53 112 5.18 115.6 -0.1
1978 BOS MLB 32 31 212.3 13 8 0 185 57 114 26 110 7.8 2.4 1.1 4.8 0% .241 1.14 3.93 3.31 110 3.95 95.5 2.0
1979 NYA MLB 30 30 195.7 13 8 0 190 53 104 22 95 8.7 2.4 1.0 4.8 0% .263 1.24 3.96 3.91 107 4.53 100.9 1.4
1980 NYA MLB 25 25 136.3 8 9 0 139 50 84 10 96 9.2 3.3 0.7 5.5 0% .291 1.39 3.59 4.89 105 4.04 94.0 1.5
1981 PIT MLB 9 9 57.3 2 5 0 54 19 32 3 104 8.5 3.0 0.5 5.0 0% .271 1.27 3.23 3.92 98 3.70 92.7 0.7
1982 CAL MLB 6 5 29.7 2 2 0 39 8 30 3 101 11.8 2.4 0.9 9.1 0% .383 1.58 2.78 5.76 87 3.35 77.9 0.6
CareerMLB5734843486.3229172153075110424163461037.92.80.96.240%.2611.203.403.301013.7190.741.5

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.
YEAR Team Lg LG G GS IP W L SV H BB SO HR PPF H/9 BB/9 HR/9 K/9 GB% BABIP WHIP FIP ERA cFIP DRA DRA-
1964 CLE MLB AL 19 16 127.0 10 4 1 94 47 105 13 99 6.7 3.3 0.9 7.4 0% .235 1.11 3.29 2.83 105 3.69 90.9
1965 CLE MLB AL 41 30 196.3 11 11 1 166 66 152 20 97 7.6 3.0 0.9 7.0 0% .256 1.18 3.23 3.53 98 3.22 80.7
1966 CLE MLB AL 46 16 155.0 12 11 8 121 50 145 16 101 7.0 2.9 0.9 8.4 0% .253 1.10 2.91 2.79 88 2.77 69.3
1967 CLE MLB AL 33 29 213.7 12 9 2 177 67 219 24 101 7.5 2.8 1.0 9.2 0% .273 1.14 2.78 2.74 83 2.74 72.7
1968 CLE MLB AL 34 32 258.3 21 9 0 152 73 264 16 93 5.3 2.5 0.6 9.2 0% .216 0.87 1.88 1.60 76 1.84 53.8
1969 CLE MLB AL 38 37 249.7 9 20 0 229 129 156 37 98 8.3 4.7 1.3 5.6 0% .252 1.43 4.68 3.71 129 5.57 136.3
1970 MIN MLB AL 18 17 92.7 7 3 0 84 41 50 12 101 8.2 4.0 1.2 4.9 0% .253 1.35 4.42 3.40 117 4.42 101.5
1971 BOS MLB AL 21 10 72.3 1 7 0 73 32 59 8 115 9.1 4.0 1.0 7.3 0% .294 1.45 3.53 4.85 100 3.64 93.2
1972 BOS MLB AL 43 19 179.0 15 6 3 128 65 123 7 105 6.4 3.3 0.4 6.2 0% .234 1.08 2.48 1.91 105 3.67 99.6
1973 BOS MLB AL 35 35 272.0 20 13 0 217 78 206 32 106 7.2 2.6 1.1 6.8 0% .239 1.08 3.53 3.34 95 2.80 66.3
1974 BOS MLB AL 38 38 311.3 22 13 0 281 82 176 21 108 8.1 2.4 0.6 5.1 0% .264 1.17 3.14 2.92 96 3.35 81.1
1975 BOS MLB AL 35 35 260.0 18 14 0 262 72 142 25 109 9.1 2.5 0.9 4.9 0% .283 1.28 3.58 4.02 103 4.42 104.7
1976 BOS MLB AL 38 38 279.0 21 12 0 274 64 131 25 106 8.8 2.1 0.8 4.2 0% .273 1.21 3.56 3.06 106 3.97 99.5
1977 BOS MLB AL 32 32 188.7 12 8 0 210 51 124 26 115 10.0 2.4 1.2 5.9 0% .301 1.38 4.05 4.53 112 5.18 115.6
1978 BOS MLB AL 32 31 212.3 13 8 0 185 57 114 26 110 7.8 2.4 1.1 4.8 0% .241 1.14 3.93 3.31 110 3.95 95.5
1979 NYA MLB AL 30 30 195.7 13 8 0 190 53 104 22 95 8.7 2.4 1.0 4.8 0% .263 1.24 3.96 3.91 107 4.53 100.9
1980 NYA MLB AL 25 25 136.3 8 9 0 139 50 84 10 96 9.2 3.3 0.7 5.5 0% .291 1.39 3.59 4.89 105 4.04 94.0
1981 PIT MLB NL 9 9 57.3 2 5 0 54 19 32 3 104 8.5 3.0 0.5 5.0 0% .271 1.27 3.23 3.92 98 3.70 92.7
1981 POR AAA PCL 21 21 146.0 13 7 0 150 49 111 8 9.2 3.0 0.5 6.8 0% .000 1.36 3.54 3.82 0 0.00 0.0
1982 CAL MLB AL 6 5 29.7 2 2 0 39 8 30 3 101 11.8 2.4 0.9 9.1 0% .383 1.58 2.78 5.76 87 3.35 77.9

Plate Discipline

YEAR Pits Zone% Swing% Contact% Z-Swing% O-Swing% Z-Contact% O-Contact% SwStr%

Injury History  —  No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On Date Off Transaction Days Games Side Body Part Injury Severity Surgery Date Reaggravation
1980-06-21 1980-07-25 34 30 - Thigh Strain - -
1978-03-26 1978-04-18 23 9 Right Fingers Dislocation Index Finger HBP - -
1977-06-05 1977-06-06 DTD 1 1 Right Thigh Strain Hamstring - -
1970-05-29 1970-08-03 66 59 Right Shoulder Fracture Scapula - -

Compensation

Year Team Salary

 

Service TimeAgentContract Status

Details

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT W L SV G GS IP H BB SO HR BABIP WHIP ERA DRA VORP WARP
Weighted Mean?????0.0?00?.0000.000.00?0.00.0

BP Annual Player Comments

No BP Book Comments have been found for this player.

BP Articles

Click here to see articles tagged with Luis Tiant

BP Chats

DateQuestionAnswer
2013-11-22 14:00:00 (link to chat)Hi Doug. Thanks for the chat. My favorite pitcher growing up was Luis Tiant - all 50 different versions of his delivery (at least it seemed that way to me). Have you ever looked at his mechanics? Was his delivery really all that different all the time, or just a lot of deceptive fluff thrown up around a basic set of mechanics? If they were all rwally different, how could he possibly that effective with that much inconsistency? Thanks.
(jimbeau from left coast)		I wish that I could say that I had seen every manipulation of the Tiant twist, but I have only seen a handful of clips. But I dig it. Funny thing is, that despite all the crazy funk, his delivery was actually really efficient. He flared the glove all crazy prior to starting his delivery, then looked at the plate before turning/twisting the complete opposite direction - but his momentum was movin on a straight line toward the plate during his twist and goofy leg kick. Then he would finish with friggin' awesome posture and a low/sidearm slot, occasionally tossing that butterfly curveball that invoked some hilarious swings. The key was that Tiant maintained the essential elements of athleticism - balance and momentum - with consistency, even as he added layers of funk to his delivery.

Thanks for invoking memories of El Tiante!

On the jukebox: AC/DC, "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" (Doug Thorburn)
2013-03-26 13:00:00 (link to chat)Will this year be the rookie season of the greatest Cuban born player of all time? Is that too high of a mountain to climb? Or only a mountain too high to accurately see over?
(Paul from DC)		Out of curiosity, I used the Baseball-Reference Play Index to find the top 5 Cuban-born players by WAR.

1. Rafael Palmeiro 66.1
2. Luis Tiant 61.8
3. Tony Perez 50.1
4. Bert Campaneris 49.2
5. Minnie Minoso 47.5

That seems really ambitious for Gerardo Concepcion.

Unless you meant Puig. Then it's still really ambitious. (Zachary Levine)
2011-02-08 14:00:00 (link to chat)Did you feel cheated when they said I had a funky delivery? Or was that a compliment?
(Dontrelle Willis from My Next Phase)		Of course it's a compliment! Has anyone ever said that a player has a "funky delivery" with the implication that it made him LESS effective than his stuff would indicate?

I miss you, Dontrelle. I also miss Luis Tiant. (Ken Funck)
2009-08-11 13:00:00 (link to chat)Are you concerned about my workload or am I just a freak of nature?
(Tim Lincecum from SF)		I am concerned, but willing to consider that Lincecum might be a freak in absence of other evidence. I think flexibility and avoidance of even minor injuries is key. I'm not sure if he's Luis Tiant, but I like the comp. (What happened to Tiant in 1970, btw?) (Will Carroll)
2008-07-09 13:00:00 (link to chat)How did Luis Tiant survive to have the career he did with his motion? I know he said something along the lines of "Delivery don't hurt my arm. No runs hurts my arm."
(Henry from Lincoln Park)		Here's the problem ... we remember the exceptions. He actually isn't that much of an exception ... I'd be curious to see some sort of era-adjustment on his innings and he never went over 200 until he was well past the nexus. Still, you remember Tiant but not Roger Moret or Dick Drago or Reggie Cleveland, guys that had much more typical patterns. I mean, I had to look those guys up. Did they have injury problems? How many pitchers had one good year, Mark Prior-style, during the time that Bob Feller calls the good ol' days? (Will Carroll)
2008-01-29 16:00:00 (link to chat)What kind of production can we expect out of Pedro this year? Should I succumb to my man crush on Pedro or should I go with a safer guy like a Jeff Francis?
(Shipoopi from Quohog, RI)		Pedro is the new Luis Tiant - who hurt his arm, looked washed up, then resurrected his career with the Red Sox in the early 1970s. Pedro is older than Tiant, but like Tiant, while he may have lost his best stuff, he still knows how to pitch.

Like Tiant, he still has the ability to reach back and put something extra on the ball when he needs to, and he still has the urge to shove the bat up the hitters' ass - he's not giving in to nobody. The Amazing Pedro Experience is over, but Twilight Pedro is still going to be fun to watch. It's just going to be at 170 innings a year, not 210. Three hundred wins is not out of the question.

Inning for inning, Pedro will be better than Francis in 2008. Francis may have more overall value because he'll pitch more. (Rany Jazayerli)


BP Roundtables

DateRoundtable NameComment
2009-10-16 13:00:00NLCS Game Two/ALCS Game OneI keep thinking about Luis Tiant in the '75 World Series. He made three starts that October. Did well against the Reds the first time through, but the third time they had his number. I wonder if that's possible with Sabathia. (Steven Goldman)