Our family had just left Cuba and was waiting our time in Jamaica. We used to get the news and baseball reports on my father’s little short wave radio. I don’t remember hearing about this game but learned about it later once we were settled in the US.
On this day in 1964, Luis Tiant made his major league debut in style:
Tiant progressed through the Indians farm system and got the call to the big club after a 15-1 record at Triple-A Portland. On, July 19, 1964, Tiant debuted with a four-single, 11 strikeouts, 3–0 shutout victory against the defending AL Champion New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The losing pitcher was future Hall of Famer Whitey Ford. Tiant finished his rookie season with a 10-4 record, 105 strikeouts, and a 2.83 ERA in 19 games.
It was quite a rookie year and a sign of great things to come. By 1968, he started for the American League in the All Star Game and everybody in Boston remembers his performance in the 1975 World Series.
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