What years did Luis Tiant play?

Luis Tiant played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1982.

Was Luis Tiant a pitcher?

Yes. Luis Tiant pitched in the major leagues, recording 229 wins and 2416 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Luis Tiant hit?

Luis Tiant hit 5 career home runs with 84 hits.

What teams did Luis Tiant play for?

Luis Tiant played for 6 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1964–1969), the Minnesota Twins (1970), the Boston Red Sox (1971–1978), the New York Yankees (1979–1980), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1981), and the California Angels (1982).

Did Luis Tiant win a Cy Young Award?

No. Luis Tiant did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Luis Tiant win?

Luis Tiant was selected to 3 All-Star Games.

What were Luis Tiant's career stats?

In 573 games, Luis Tiant went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA, 2,416 strikeouts, 3,486.1 innings pitched, and 15 saves. At the plate he had 84 hits and 5 home runs.

What position did Luis Tiant play?

Luis Tiant played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Luis Tiant and how much did he weigh?

Luis Tiant was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.

What was Luis Tiant's career ERA?

Luis Tiant finished with a 3.30 career ERA, going 229-172 with 2,416 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Luis Tiant have?

Luis Tiant recorded 2,416 career strikeouts.

Is Luis Tiant in the Hall of Fame?

No. Luis Tiant has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Luis Tiant make?

Luis Tiant was selected to 3 All-Star Games.

Luis Tiant

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1964-1982)

Luis Tiant was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1982 for 6 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 19 seasons. Across 573 career appearances, he went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA and 2,416 strikeouts. He also batted .164 with 5 home runs. Luis Tiant was a 3-time All-Star and a Babe Ruth Award. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11616.0.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 229–172

ERA 3.30

WHIP 1.20

SO 2,416

Pitcher PIV 11616.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 180 lb
Born: 11/23/1940 in Marianao, La Habana, Cuba
Died: 10/8/2024 in Wells, ME, USA
MLB Debut: 1964-07-19
Last Game: 1982-09-04
Awards: 3× All-Star · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Luis Clemente Tiant

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Luis Tiant — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
137.0	119.0	2.0	10.0	0	0	0	8.0	9.0	3.0	0	.084	.155	.084	.239

Pitching

Luis Tiant — Pitching
W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
41	18	72	35	25	5	516.1	463	213	88	13	119	249	1.53	1.13

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Luis Tiant — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season	PA	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1935	8.0	7.0	0	1.0	0	0	2.0	.143	.143	.143	.286
1936	10.0	7.0	0	0	0	2.0	0	.000	.300	.000	.300
1939	21.0	21.0	1.0	4.0	1.0	0	0	.190	.190	.190	.380
1940	1.0	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
1943	4.0	4.0	0	1.0	3.0	0	0	.250	.250	.250	.500
1944	15.0	13.0	0	0	0	1.0	0	.000	.071	.000	.071
1945	18.0	15.0	0	0	2.0	0	1.0	.000	.000	.000	.000
1946	24.0	20.0	0	2.0	0	3.0	0	.100	.217	.100	.317
1947	36.0	31.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	0	.065	.147	.065	.212
Listed seasons · 9	137	119	2	10	8	9	3	.084	—	—	—

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Luis Tiant — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
Season	W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
1935	1	0	2	1	0	0	17.0	14	9	4	0	9	8	2.12	1.35
1936	6	1	9	3	6	0	59.2	35	18	11	0	13	54	1.66	0.80
1939	2	7	9	6	1	0	70.1	76	34	24	1	13	38	3.07	1.26
1943	1	0	3	0	1	0	11.1	15	9	3	0	5	3	2.38	1.76
1944	8	3	13	6	2	1	80.2	71	30	14	3	16	37	1.56	1.08
1945	6	2	11	6	4	2	80.2	76	35	9	5	16	31	1.00	1.14
1946	5	5	9	4	7	1	83.1	73	33	4	2	28	34	0.43	1.21
1947	12	0	16	9	4	1	113.1	103	45	19	2	19	44	1.51	1.08
Listed seasons · 8	41	18	72	35	25	5	516.1	463	213	88	13	119	249	1.53	1.13

Career Pitching Statistics

Luis Tiant — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
229	172	573	484	187	49	15	3486.1	3,075	1,280	346	1,104	2,416	3.30	11616.0

Career ERA 3.30 vs. league average 3.63 across their career seasons — 9.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luis Tiant (b. 1940) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1964	CLE	AL	10	4	19	16	9	3	1	127.0	94	40	47	105	2.83	3.58 (+21%)	459.2
1965	CLE	AL	11	11	41	30	10	2	1	196.1	166	77	66	152	3.53	3.50 (-1%)	773.1
1966	CLE	AL	12	11	46	16	7	5	8	155.0	121	48	50	145	2.79	3.52 (+21%)	1953.6
1967	CLE	AL	12	9	33	29	9	1	2	213.2	177	65	67	219	2.74	3.30 (+17%)	2227.1
1968	CLE	AL	21	9	34	32	19	9	0	258.1	152	46	73	264	1.60	2.98 (+46%)	6403.4
1969	CLE	AL	9	20	38	37	9	1	0	249.2	229	103	129	156	3.71	3.61 (-3%)	-7607.6
1970	MIN	AL	7	3	18	17	2	1	0	92.2	84	35	41	50	3.40	3.89 (+13%)	-1735.0
1971	BOS	AL	1	7	21	10	1	0	0	72.1	73	39	32	59	4.85	3.47 (-40%)	-284.9
1972	BOS	AL	15	6	43	19	12	6	3	179.0	128	38	65	123	1.91	3.26 (+41%)	2976.5
1973	BOS	AL	20	13	35	35	23	0	0	272.0	217	101	78	206	3.34	3.75 (+11%)	1638.2
1974	BOS	AL	22	13	38	38	25	7	0	311.1	281	101	82	176	2.92	3.63 (+20%)	3926.9
1975	BOS	AL	18	14	35	35	18	2	0	260.0	262	116	72	142	4.02	3.71 (-8%)	609.4
1976	BOS	AL	21	12	38	38	19	3	0	279.0	274	95	64	131	3.06	3.51 (+13%)	-450.9
1977	BOS	AL	12	8	32	32	3	3	0	188.2	210	95	51	124	4.53	4.00 (-13%)	-279.8
1978	BOS	AL	13	8	32	31	12	5	0	212.1	185	78	57	114	3.31	3.69 (+10%)	-1549.6
1979	NYA	AL	13	8	30	30	5	1	0	195.2	190	85	53	104	3.91	4.00 (+2%)	298.2
1980	NYA	AL	8	9	25	25	3	0	0	136.1	139	74	50	84	4.89	3.84 (-27%)	861.7
1981	PIT	NL	2	5	9	9	1	0	0	57.1	54	25	19	32	3.92	3.58 (-10%)	616.5
1982	CAL	AL	2	2	6	5	0	0	0	29.2	39	19	8	30	5.76	3.86 (-49%)	780.0
Career · 19 seasons			229	172	573	484	187	49	15	3,486.1	3,075	1,280	1,104	2,416	3.30	—	11,616

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Luis Tiant — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
573	513	36	84	14	1	5	44	1	13	146	.164	.185	.224	.409	-2,300

Career AVG .164 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 35.5% below league average.

Career OBP .185 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 42.1% below league average.

Career SLG .224 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 40.2% below league average.

Career OPS .409 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — 41.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luis Tiant (b. 1940) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1964	CLE	AL	19	45	3	5	0	0	1	3	0	0	13	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1965	CLE	AL	41	68	2	6	0	0	1	3	0	3	30	.088	.245 (-64%)	.310 (-59%)	.371 (-64%)	.682 (-62%)	-639.1
1966	CLE	AL	46	36	0	4	0	0	0	3	0	1	12	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1967	CLE	AL	33	71	9	18	3	0	1	10	0	2	23	.254	.242 (+5%)	.306 (-12%)	.357 (-5%)	.663 (-8%)	-109.1
1968	CLE	AL	34	87	4	7	1	0	0	3	0	0	14	.080	.236 (-66%)	.298 (-73%)	.340 (-73%)	.638 (-73%)	-905.0
1969	CLE	AL	38	81	8	19	2	1	2	9	0	3	22	.235	.248 (-5%)	.320 (-16%)	.369 (-3%)	.689 (-9%)	-144.5
1970	MIN	AL	18	32	7	13	4	0	0	4	1	1	6	.406	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	BOS	AL	21	19	0	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	4	.158	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	BOS	AL	43	56	3	6	1	0	0	4	0	2	18	.107	.243 (-56%)	.310 (-56%)	.353 (-65%)	.664 (-60%)	-501.8
1973	BOS	AL	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	BOS	AL	38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	BOS	AL	35	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	BOS	AL	38	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	BOS	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	BOS	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	NYA	AL	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	NYA	AL	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	PIT	NL	9	16	0	3	2	0	0	4	0	1	3	.188	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	CAL	AL	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 19 seasons			573	513	36	84	14	1	5	44	1	13	146	.164	—	—	—	—	-2,300

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Luis Tiant — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
6	8	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	4	.250

Playoff Batting by Year

Luis Tiant — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	BB	SO	AVG
1975	ALCS	BOS	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1975	WS	BOS	3	8	2	2	2	4	.250
1970	ALCS	MIN	2	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Luis Tiant — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
3	0	5	4	0	34.2	29	11	11	20	2.86

Playoff Pitching by Year

Luis Tiant — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1975	ALCS	BOS	1	1	1	9.0	3	0	3	8	0.00
1975	WS	BOS	2	3	3	25.0	25	10	8	12	3.60
1970	ALCS	MIN	0	1	0	0.2	1	1	0	0	13.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1146 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Luis Tiant — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	290	231	20	42	3	22	.182
Away	283	282	16	42	2	22	.149

Pitching — Home / Away

Luis Tiant — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	290	1782.0	1581	639	529	1271	3.23
Away	283	1704.1	1494	641	575	1145	3.38

Last 10 Games — Batting

Luis Tiant — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	2B	RBI
1982-09-04	LAA	MIL	L	0	0	0	0
1982-08-29	LAA	BOS	L	0	0	0	0
1982-08-22	LAA	DET	W	0	0	0	0
1982-08-17	LAA	BOS	W	0	0	0	0
1982-08-12	LAA	MIN	W	0	0	0	0
1982-08-05	LAA	MIN	L	0	0	0	0
1981-10-01	PIT	WSN	L	2	1	1	1
1981-09-26	PIT	STL	L	1	0	0	0
1981-09-21	PIT	NYN	L	2	0	0	0
1981-09-15	PIT	CHC	W	4	1	1	3

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Luis Tiant — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1982-09-04	LAA	MIL	L	5.1	12	7	7	1	4	0
1982-08-29	LAA	BOS	—	2.0	4	4	4	2	3	1
1982-08-22	LAA	DET	—	4.0	4	2	2	0	5	1
1982-08-17	LAA	BOS	W	8.0	8	2	1	2	8	0
1982-08-12	LAA	MIN	W	7.0	6	1	1	1	4	0
1982-08-05	LAA	MIN	L	3.1	5	4	4	2	6	1
1981-10-01	PIT	WSN	L	5.1	6	5	4	2	5	0
1981-09-26	PIT	STL	—	5.1	8	2	2	0	3	1
1981-09-21	PIT	NYN	—	7.0	5	2	2	0	3	0
1981-09-15	PIT	CHC	W	9.0	4	2	2	1	8	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Luis Tiant — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	573	484	221	389	35	31

Season-by-Season Fielding

Luis Tiant — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1964	CLE	P	19	16	3	21	1	2
1965	CLE	P	41	30	17	27	1	2
1966	CLE	P	46	16	9	20	4	0
1967	CLE	P	33	29	13	17	4	3
1968	CLE	P	34	32	15	19	1	2
1969	CLE	P	38	37	22	31	4	1
1970	MIN	P	18	17	3	14	1	2
1971	BOS	P	21	10	5	9	1	0
1972	BOS	P	43	19	7	24	1	1
1973	BOS	P	35	35	17	31	1	4
1974	BOS	P	38	38	22	31	4	1
1975	BOS	P	35	35	16	22	4	2
1976	BOS	P	38	38	12	34	4	4
1977	BOS	P	32	32	16	16	0	0
1978	BOS	P	32	31	14	20	0	2
1979	NYA	P	30	30	13	27	2	2
1980	NYA	P	25	25	13	21	2	3
1981	PIT	P	9	9	3	5	0	0
1982	CAL	P	6	5	1	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Luis Tiant (b. 1940) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	573

Awards & Honors

Luis Tiant — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1976	Player of the Month	August
1976	Player of the Week	Week of 1976-09-24
1975	Babe Ruth Award	P
1974	Player of the Week	Week of 1974-07-12
1972	TSN Comeback Player of the Year

Award Voting History

Luis Tiant — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1976	Cy Young Award	AL	5th	10.0	120	0
1976	Most Valuable Player	AL	26th	3.0	336	0
1974	Cy Young Award	AL	4th	8.0	120	0
1974	Most Valuable Player	AL	11th	41.0	336	0
1972	Cy Young Award	AL	6th	16.0	120	1
1972	Most Valuable Player	AL	8th	70.0	336	0
1968	Most Valuable Player	AL	5th	78.0	280	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Luis Tiant (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Luis Tiant

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Luis Tiant: the record in brief

Between the debut on July 19, 1964 and the final game on September 4, 1982, Luis Tiant built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Indians (1964 to 1969), the Minnesota Twins (1970), the Boston Red Sox (1971 to 1978), the New York Yankees (1979 through 1980), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1981), and the California Angels (1982). At 6'0" and 180 pounds, Tiant is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Tiant both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is November 23, 1940, in Marianao, La Habana, Cuba. Tiant's death is recorded on October 8, 2024, in Wells, ME, USA. Tiant's full given name, per the bio, is Luis Clemente Tiant.

Tiant went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA in 573 games, 484 of them starts. Tiant had 2,416 strikeouts, 187 complete games, 49 shutouts, and 15 saves. The leagues Tiant pitched in allowed 3.63 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 9.1% better than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Luis Tiant

What years did Luis Tiant play?: Luis Tiant played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1982.
Was Luis Tiant a pitcher?: Yes. Luis Tiant pitched in the major leagues, recording 229 wins and 2416 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Luis Tiant hit?: Luis Tiant hit 5 career home runs with 84 hits.
What teams did Luis Tiant play for?: Luis Tiant played for 6 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1964–1969), the Minnesota Twins (1970), the Boston Red Sox (1971–1978), the New York Yankees (1979–1980), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1981), and the California Angels (1982).
Did Luis Tiant win a Cy Young Award?: No. Luis Tiant did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Luis Tiant win?: Luis Tiant was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Luis Tiant's career stats?: In 573 games, Luis Tiant went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA, 2,416 strikeouts, 3,486.1 innings pitched, and 15 saves. At the plate he had 84 hits and 5 home runs.
What position did Luis Tiant play?: Luis Tiant played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Luis Tiant and how much did he weigh?: Luis Tiant was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
What was Luis Tiant's career ERA?: Luis Tiant finished with a 3.30 career ERA, going 229-172 with 2,416 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Luis Tiant have?: Luis Tiant recorded 2,416 career strikeouts.
Is Luis Tiant in the Hall of Fame?: No. Luis Tiant has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Luis Tiant make?: Luis Tiant was selected to 3 All-Star Games.