Sunday, November 24, 2024
Growing up with El Tiante’s baseball cards
Growing up with El Tiante’s baseball cards - American Thinker https://t.co/fukonh5Buu
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) November 24, 2024
We remember the great Luis Tiant, who was born in Marianao, Cuba on this day in 1940 and died in 2024.
Luis was born in a family of pitchers. His father was Luis Eleuterio Tiant, who pitched professionally in the old Negro Leagues in the U.S. as well as in Mexico. Unfortunately, he never got to the majors because of the color line, but it happened. My father did remember Luis Senior in the Cuban leagues. He was a nasty left-hander!
Our family came to the U.S. in 1964, and it coincided with Tiant’s debut season with what they used to call the Cleveland Indians, or “los indios,” as we called them. It was a stellar debut: 10-4, 9 complete games, 3 shutouts, and a 2.83 ERA. It didn’t take long for my brother and me to get his baseball card, along with Tony Oliva, who won the batting title and Rookie of the Year. It was a good year for the Cuban rookies.
A few years later, Luis led the AL in 1968 with a 1.60 ERA! By the late 1960s, El Tiante was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Back then, we had very little baseball on TV, so the daily sports page kept our family updated on Tiant’s starts. It was a thrill to have my dad open the newspaper and say that Tiant had thrown another complete game or something that pitchers used to do back then.
Suddenly, he suffered a series of arm injuries in 1970–71 and was released and passed up by several teams who thought that he was finished. I remember watching him start a game, leave with an arm injury, and it seemed as though our favorite, El Tiante, would never pitch again.
Everything changed when the Red Sox gave him a chance in 1972: 15 wins and an AL-leading 1.91 ERA. Tiant won 81 games over the next 4 seasons and became the darling of Fenway Park. I got to see a lot of Luis in those years because I was going to school in Maryland, and the Orioles-Red Sox rivalry was wonderful baseball. Watching El Tiante go through that winding motion at the old Memorial Stadium is just a great memory.
Up in New England, they remember Tiant and the 1975 post-season. He shut down the A’s in game 1 of the ALCS and beat the Reds in Games 1 and 4 of the World Series. And his aforementioned father had a chance to watch him pitch. It was a wonderful post-season for father and son. By the way, his 10-inning, 163-pitch complete game in Game 4 was maybe the best Tiant ever. The Red Sox needed that victory to tie the series, and El Tiante did his job.
Luis Tiant retired with 229 wins, a 3.30 ERA, and 189 complete games. In my opinion, he should be in the Hall of Fame. Let’s hope he goes in the next time around.
It’s a shame that he passed away and we won’t hear him give that acceptance speech. Nevertheless, I want future generations of baseball to learn about the man with that winding motion that kept batters seeing psychiatrists.
PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.
WORLD WAR I, part 4, WITH BARRY JACOBSEN
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/French37WWI-58cc21925f9b581d72088cc8.jpg)
THURSDAY: WORLD WAR I, part 4, WITH BARRY JACOBSEN, military historian....Listen in now at http://t.co/siIUDLTn6m. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) August 29, 2014P.S. You can listen to my show. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
1963: Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald
On this day in 1963, millions of people watched Jack Ruby, a Dallas businessman, shoot Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged killer of President Kennedy. Oswald died shortly after.
It happened as the authorities were taking Oswald to another jail and about 48 hours after the assassination of the president.
To say the least, the shooting shocked the nation and opened the door to a ton of conspiracy theories about the president's assassination.
For the record, I believe that Oswald shot President Kennedy on his own. I came to that conclusion after reading Gerald Posner's "Case closed" in the 1990's.
Ruby died of cancer in 1967. As far as we know, He never changed his story about why he killed Oswald. Apparently, Ruby did not want Jackie Kennedy to come to a trial. He took that explanation to his grave.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
The Cuban kitchen with Marta and Sonia
The Cuban kitchen with Marta and Sonia.....click to listen.... https://t.co/Nzh6CUYq1g— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) May 31, 2016
The Cuban Christmas kitchen with Marta Verdes Darby & Sonia Martinez
The Cuban Christmas kitchen with Marta Verdes Darby & Sonia Martinez....click to listen....... https://t.co/TizK5C3M63— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) December 20, 2016
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.
Birthday parties & the Cuban kitchen with Marta Verdes Darby and Sonia Martinez
Guests: Marta Verdes Darby, author and editor of 'My big fat Cuban family'......and Sonia Martinez, author of 'From soup to nuts'.............join me for a look at Cuban birthday party foods.......the cakes....the pastries...the drinks.......sandwiches.................
Click to listen:
Tags: Cuban birthday parties and the Cuban kitchen To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
The Cuban Christmas kitchen with Marta & Sonia
Guests: Sonia Martinez, author of "From soup to nuts" & newspaper columnist........Marta Verdes Darby, author and editor of "My big fat Cuban family".......we look at Cuban recipes for Christmas......
Successful Cuban American businesswomen in the US
2016 show: The Cuban Christmas kitchen with Sonia & Marta
The Cuban Christmas kitchen with Sonia & Marta......Listen in now at https://t.co/QigcZlOaZq. #BlogTalkRadio— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) December 21, 2016
2013 podcast: "Cuba at 60" with Dr. Carlos Eire
Click to listen
Cuba at 60 with Dr. Carlos Eire 01/02 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics Podcasts:
Guest: Dr. Carlos Eire, author of 'Waiting for snow in Havana' and other books.........we will discuss the 60th anniversary of the Castro regime in Cuba......and other stories.............
The poetry of Cástulo Gregorisch and Fernando Hernandez, author................
The poetry of Cástulo Gregorisch & a book by Fernando Hernandez........... https://t.co/WNjWDBaWFg
— P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.
How much "leche condensada" did you have as a Cuban kid?
We had a great time with Marta Verdes Darby, Sonia Martinez and Frank Burke talking about Cuban food.
And we spoke about "leche condensada".....a real treat for those of us who grew up in Cuba.
Click here for the show:
SATURDAY: "THE CUBAN KITCHEN" with Marta Verdes Darby & Sonia Martinez........Listen in now at http://t.co/zVIygVIPn5. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) February 22, 2014
Tags: Cuban food To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
The Cuban kitchen with Marta and Sonia
The Cuban kitchen with Marta and Sonia.....click to listen.... https://t.co/Nzh6CUYq1g— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) May 31, 2016
Tersi Agra Bendiburg: A “Cubana” from Dixie who tells stories!
"Tersi had vivid memories from her childhood in post-revolution Cuba. She remembers soldiers walking through her house, taking inventory of everything her family owned. A year later, when they were to leave the country with nothing --not even her parents' wedding rings, the soldiers returned to re-inventory all the contents of the house. She also remembers her father hiding a young man in their home (who had been shot by soldiers) until he could be passed along safely.
At age, ten, Tersi’s family moved to Mexico City where they stayed with a distant relative while her parents applied for political asylum in the United States. That Christmas was the first time Carmen, age 3, had ever seen Christmas lights because religious celebrations had been halted after the revolution in Cuba.
It was a wonderland. On the Dia de los Reyes, Three Kings Day, Tersi wrote to the kings to let them know Tersi and her family were no longer in Cuba, but were, instead, in Mexico City so they would know where to bring presents. Her parents were so worried that Tersi had written a letter and they had no money to buy her a present. It was then that she spoke with a relative from Decatur, Georgia who told Tersi that the kings had left presents for her and Carmen in Decatur, and that in the future she should direct her letters to Santa Claus because the kings said the coffee in America was too weak for men from the east and the icy streets were too much of a challenge for the camels. Sure enough, when they arrived in Decatur, both girls had presents waiting for them.
In Decatur, the Agra family was sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Decatur. They never needed welfare since they had a little furnished apartment and Mr. Agra began work almost immediately. Tersi attended Oakhurst Elementary where she had the famous spinach incident, and many other adventures.
That first Halloween in the United States Tersi ran home with a pillowcase full of candy. She dumped it out and said, “You just say trick-or-treat and they give you candy!”
“What a country!” Her father exclaimed."
We spoke with Tersi on Friday's show and learned that she was born in Florida, Camaguey or not too far from my mom's hometown of Ciego de Avila! As my mother loves to say: "Que mundo mas chiquito"!
Click to hear the show from 2013.
The Cuban kitchen with Marta Verdes Darby and Sonia Martinez
The Cuban kitchen with Marta Verdes Darby and Sonia Martinez 05/31 by Silvio Canto Jr | Food Podcasts:
Guests: Marta Verdes Darby, author and editor of 'My big fat Cuban family'......and Sonia Martinez, author of 'From soup to nuts'.............join me for a look at Cuban birthday party foods.......the cakes....the pastries...the drinks.......sandwiches..................we also hope to hear about Marta's mom who is now 102 years old...................
The Cuban kitchen with Marta Verdes Darby and Sonia Martinez
Guests: Marta Verdes Darby, author and editor of "My big fat Cuban family"......and Sonia Martinez, author of "From soup to nuts".............join me for a look at Cuban birthday party foods.......the cakes....the pastries...the drinks.......sandwiches..................we also hope to hear about Marta's mom who is now 102 years old...................
The story of Desi Arnaz with Fernando Hernandez, author
Guest: Fernando Hernandez, author of "The Cubans", joins us for the story of Desi Arnaz, TV star and executive........
Click to listen......
P.S. You can listen to my show. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.