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Luis Tiant lands on another Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
Luis Tiant will be up for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the Classic Baseball Era ballot.
Luis Titant will have another opportunity to earn a spot in Cooperstown.
Tiant — who died on Oct. 8 at the age of 83 — was included as one of eight names on the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2025 Classic Baseball Era ballot on Monday. The ballot features seven players and one manager whose contributions “whose primary contribution to the game came prior to 1980.”
Along with Tiant, the other individuals on the latest Classic Baseball Era ballot are Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, and Dave Parker.
Any Classic Baseball Era candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the committee will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 27, 2025. Voting results for the committee will be announced on Dec. 8.
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Tiant became a beloved figure in Boston due to his windmill windup, a flair for the dramatics, and his standing as the ace of the Red Sox’ pitching staff during the ’70s. The Cuban-born righty won 229 games over his 19-year career, posting four 20-win campaigns and twice winning the ERA title in the American League.
The three-time All-Star regularly delivered under pressure during his tenure with the Red Sox — especially during Boston’s run to the 1975 World Series. He tossed a complete game shutout in Game 1 of the Fall Classic against the Reds that October.
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Just four days later, he threw a whopping 155 pitches in another complete-game effort against Cincy. Boston won all three of his starts in the 1975 World Series, but still came up short in the seven-game bout.
Despite his impressive resume and standing as one of Boston’s first Latino sports stars, Tiant never garnered much consideration for Cooperstown after his playing career wrapped. During his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, he never garnered more than the 30.9 percent of votes he received during his first year of eligibility.
Speaking back in 2021, Tiant was candid about his inability to earn an induction into Cooperstown, while also expressing his frustration over the Hall of Fame’s recent record of welcoming into baseball legends posthumously.
“You have to forget those things,” Tiant told USA Today’s Cesar Brioso in 2021. “I’m not going to waste my time with that. The day that they want to put me in, put me in. Hopefully, I won’t be dead because I’ve told my family, I’ve told my wife, ‘If they put me in after I die, don’t go. Don’t go pick up anything or talk or anything.’
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“What they did to Ron Santo [who died in 2010 and was inducted in 2012] — he lost both legs. Why didn’t they put him in? They waited until after he died? That’s a lack of respect. That’s heartless.”
Tiant’s son, Dan, shared a similar sentiment while speaking with The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham about his father’s potential posthumous induction.
“It’s bittersweet,” Tiant told Abraham on Monday. “I’d love for him to be in the Hall of Fame and to have that plaque. It would mean a lot to the family, especially the grandchildren. But I don’t know how I feel.”
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