On July 3rd, 1968, Luis Tiant struck out 19 Twins in 10 innings as Cleveland defeated Minnesota 1-0. With that performance, Tiant set two major-league records: most strikeouts in a ten-inning game and 32 strikeouts in consecutive games (and he tied the record of 41 strikeouts in three successive appearances).

Sometimes when I am bored, I play a game with myself. I make lists in my mind of players that I never got to see play in person. I imagine that if I had a Time Machine and could go back in time and watch baseball games what are the players or games that would I really like to see in person.

Some of the names are obvious like Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, and Jackie Robinson. But there are others that are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame but are in my Personal Hall of Fame. These include players like Mark Fidrych, Vida Blue, Mickey Rivers, Rusty Staub, and Luis Tiant.

Luis Tiant, whose actual age as a player was always a mystery, was a magical kind of figure for me even though I was not a Red Sox fan. But then again, he was that kind of player for a lot of people. He was a larger-than-life character that sportswriters naturally loved to write about, and hence baseball fans like me loved to read about.

Tiant is not in the Hall of Fame. But by some Advanced Stat metrics, he certainly should be. Jay Jaffe in his JAWS measurements, has Tiant as the 44th best pitcher of all time.

44th! That is better than 38 Hall of Fame pitchers including legendary starters like: Sandy Koufax, Whitey Ford, and Bob Feller.

Looking at Tiant’s stats, here are two things that stand out:

• Led the league in ERA twice, 1968 for Cleveland and 1972 for the Red Sox.
• Led the league in Shut-Outs three times

Luis Tiant is mostly remembered today as an exceptionally good teammate and one of the memorable characters of the game. Here are some great quotes about one of my all-time favorite players.

“If a man put a gun to my head and said I’m going to pull the trigger if you lose this game, I’d want Luis Tiant to pitch that game.” – Boston Red Sox Manager Darrell Johnson

“It looks like Tiant has added another pitch. Now he has about fifty!” – Thurman Munson in Dick Young’s Clubhouse Confidential column in the NY Daily News (Sunday, June 22, 1975)

“It was fun playing behind him (Luis Tiant). He’d get on the rubber and throw in a hurry. Everybody was on their toes because he was always around the plate. He had bulldog competitiveness.” – Third Baseman Max Alvis

“I’ve never heard anything like that (“Loo-Eee, Loo-Eee, Loo-Eee” chanting in Fenway Park) in my life. But I’ll tell you one thing: Tiant deserved every bit of it.” – Carl Yastrzemski

“Luis and I would each be fighting for 30 wins if he had our (Detroit Tigers) kind of hitting to go with his kind of pitching” – Denny McLain during the 1968 All-Star Game

“Tiant didn’t join the Red Sox until mid-career, but he became one of the most popular players in club history. A balding, overweight starter whose age was often estimated at several years higher that its ‘official’ listing, Tiant spoke with a thick Cuban accent and would smoke cigars anywhere, including the clubhouse whirlpool and shower. He was a renowned locker-room prankster, but was serious on the mound, winning 20 games three times for Boston. He baffled hitters with a rocking, twisting windup and an assortment of release points that ranged from over-the-top to nearly underhand.” – Steve Holtje in baseballibrary.com

“Tiant had a backup curveball. It never broke. His changeup was so-so, but he had pinpoint control and could bring it about ninety-five miles an hour. And he had a hell of a move to first base. He liked to talk to the hitters. He’d say, ‘Hit it baby.’”- Catcher Joe Azcue

“Tiant is the Fred Astaire of baseball.”- Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in Five Seasons (Roger Angell)

“When I was a boy growing up in Cuba, Luis Tiant was a national hero. Now I’m 36 and he’s 37.” – Tony Perez in The McFarland Baseball Quotations Dictionary (David H. Nathan, 2000)

“Unless you’ve played with him, you can’t understand what Luis means to a team.” – Teammate Dwight Evans