Boston Red Sox legend Luis Tiant passed away Tuesday at his home in Maine at the age of 83, according to a Major League Baseball press release.
Also known by his nickname “El Tiante,” the Hall of Fame pitcher spent 31 years with the Red Sox as a player, broadcaster, coach, and special assignment instructor. Apart from his successes and many talents, he was best known for his personality, according to friends and teammates.
“Luis had the kind of unforgettable presence that made you feel like you were part of his world,” said Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry in the Tuesday press release. “He was magnetic and had a smile that could light up Fenway Park.”
Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner said Tiant was a cornerstone of the Red Sox pitching staff for years and rose to the challenge of situations, which cemented his reputation as a true legend.
“But what made Luis unforgettable was his vibrant personality. He was a gifted storyteller, always sharing tales filled with humor, honesty, and an enduring loyalty to his teammates,” Werner said. “All of us are deeply saddened by his passing. We lost one of the great ones today.”
Other friends took to social media to say farewell.
“Today is a very sad day. My friend and teammate , Luis Tiant, passed away,” former center fielder Fred Lynn, who played alongside Tiant with the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels, posted on X. “A Big game pitcher, a funny genuine guy who loved his family and baseball. I miss him already.”
A Cuba native who sported a horseshoe mustache, Tiant made three All-Star teams throughout his career and recorded four seasons with at least 20 wins. He won Earned Run Average (ERA) titles in the American League in 1968 with the Cleveland Indians—averaging 1.60—and one in 1972 with the Red Sox—averaging 1.91—both of which were best in the league that year.
Throughout his career, he also pitched for the Yankees, Twins, Pirates, and Angels. In his final moments with the Red Sox, the baseball legend threw a two-hit shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays in October 1978, which set the team up for a one-game playoff against the Yankees. According to the league, he went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA and 2,416 strikeouts in 19 seasons.
Signed by Boston as a free agent in May 1971, Tiant was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997. He finished his career with the club with a 122-81 record and a 3.36 ERA and is still one of the franchise’s all-time leaders in starts (5th, 238), wins (5th, 122), innings pitched (4th, 1774.2), complete games (tied for 6th, 113), strikeouts (7th, 1075), and shutouts (4th, 26), according to the MLB.
Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy said in the MLB press release that Tiant will be greatly missed in the Spring Training camps to come.
“I am gutted by the news of his passing and will miss him more than words can express. Spring Training won’t be the same without Luis’s infectious energy spreading throughout camp,” he said.
His death comes weeks after all-time baseball hits leader Pete Rose died.
The two legends faced each other in the 1975 World Series, in which Tiant’s Red Sox shut out Rose’s Cincinnati Reds in Game 1.
In Game 4, Tiant threw 155 pitches in a complete game victory—pitching in every inning—and threw for another seven innings in Game 6, which Boston won on Carlton Fisk’s home run in the bottom of the 12th, the MLB said.