About time I go and give "El Tiante", Luis Tiant a do-over with his 1970 card, from a boring close up cap-less portrait shot to a better posed image in full uni:
For those that don't remember the original card Topps had out there way back when, here you go:
Obviously,
Topps was up against it, trying to have Tiant shown with his new team,
the Minnesota twins, as his career was taking a severe turn for the
worse just two years after his incredible 1968 campaign that saw him
post a minuscule 1.60 earned run average while tossing nine shutouts,
with 21 wins and 264 strikeouts for the Cleveland Indians.
With
my card, I just showed him with the Indians one last time, as he was
coming off a 1969 season that saw him lead the league with 20 losses,
129 base on balls and 37 home runs allowed, while pitching to a 3.71 ERA
over 249.2 innings of work.
Incredibly, with his career seemingly done in 1970/71, Tiant found himself in
Boston in 1972 and immediately was back in form, leading the American League in
earned run average with a sterling 1.91 in 1972 along with six shutouts
in only 19 starts.
In three of the next four seasons he'd top 20 wins, and was on his
way to a solid, if not arguably Hall-worthy 19-year career, retiring
after the 1982 season after pitching in six games with the California
Angels.
By that time he fashioned a 229-172 record, with a 3.30 E.R.A., 49
shutouts and 2416 strikeouts, with two seasons of sub-2.00 E.R.A., four
20-win campaigns as well as three 200+ strikeout years.
As a kid in Brooklyn, New York in the late 70's I remember him with
the Yankees, and always thought he looked like some cool granpa who was
always cracking jokes. In other words, I loved him!
After getting 30.9% support in his first year on the Hall of Fame
ballot in 1988, he never got close again to those numbers, topping out
at 18.0% in his final year of eligibility in 2002.
But it's easy to say that "El Tiante" definitely left his mark on the game during his time on the mound!
