Boston Red Sox: Top 5 starting pitchers in franchise history
By Sean Penney
El Tiante had an inconsistent run during his eight seasons in Boston, but when he was at the top of his game there were few better on the mound.
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Tiant bounced back from a disappointing first season with the Red Sox to post a league-leading 1.91 ERA in 1972. He wouldn’t capture another ERA title after that, but he did win 20+ games in three of the next four seasons.
The right-hander from Cuba was a workhorse, reaching at least 260 innings in four consecutive seasons. In 1974 he tossed an absurd 311 1/3 innings, including 25 complete games and a league high 7 shutouts.
Red Sox fans will fondly remember Tiant for his postseason performance in 1975. After defeating Oakland in a complete game three-hit shutout in the ALCS, Tiant would go on to win two of his starts in the World Series. That included another complete game shutout in Game 1, followed by a gutsy 155-pitch effort in Game 4 on the road in Cincinnati to even the series. Drained from the heavy workload, Tiant was roughed up in Game 6, only to be saved by Carlton Fisk‘s iconic 12th inning home run. He would finish that postseason with a 3-0 record and 2.86 ERA over four starts. While Boston ultimately fell short in Game 7, they don’t make it that far without Tiant’s heroics.