As any baseball fan knows, the 1975 World Series was one of the greatest ever, from Carlton Fisk to Pete Rose to Johnny Bench to Joe Morgan. It was also a great story about a father and his son.
Today, we remember Luis Tiant. He won 229 games in the majors. He also led the A.L. in ERA in 1968 and 1972. Along with Juan Marichal, he was one of the best right-handers from Latin America.
We also remember his father, one of the best pitchers in Cuban history and the Negro Leagues. Luis Sr. pitched in the U.S., Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, as well as touring with teams from 1926 through 1948. Unfortunately, he never got to play in the Major Leagues.
Many years ago, a proud father watched his son pitch a World Series beauty, a brilliant 6-0 shutout against Cincinnati in Game 1 of the 1975 World Series. He did it against a lineup that included Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, fellow Cuban Tony Perez, David Concepción, George Foster, and a few others. They were called The Big Red Machine for a reason!
Tiant came back and won Game 4 with a complete game that featured 163 pitches! He started Game 6, after a few days of rain, but did not get a decision. That was the game where Carlton Fisk hit the H.R. in the bottom of the 12th.
And we recall that his father died in 1976. It must have been a very emotional moment to catch his son pitching in the Major Leagues for the first time!