ICYMI: El Tiante a HOF Finalist

In Case You Missed It: Next Sunday the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the voting results for the Class of 2009 Veteran’s Committee candidates. The field is now separated into pre-1943 and post-1943 candidates, depending on when the player’s career began. There are 10 finalists on each ballot with 75% of the vote needed for induction. The pre-1943 ballot is voted on by a 12-person panel while the post-1943 ballot is voted on by all living Hall of Fame members. While there are several players with Boston ties on the older ballot (Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Sherry Magee, Carl Mays, Vern Stephens, Mickey Vernon and Deacon White all played in Boston) the most intriguing name for Boston fans is on the post-1943 ballot: Luis Tiant. “El Tiante” is one of just two pitchers (along with Jim Kaat) on the post-1943 ballot. His career totals were a 229-172 record, 187 complete games, 49 shutouts, 2,416 strikeouts and a 3.30 ERA (inflated considerably in his later years). He also had a 3-0 record and 2.86 ERA in postseason play, including a 3-hit shutout in the 1975 ALCS. Although best known as a Red Sox his best season was actually 1968 with Cleveland, when he finished 21-9 with 264 strikeouts, 9 shutouts and a 1.60 ERA. Although I will be pulling for Luis he does have three strikes working against him: He didn’t get 300 wins, didn’t win a championship and never won a Cy Young Award. It will be interesting to see if his contemporaries are more forgiving of mere numbers and choose to elect one of the most dynamic starting pitchers of his time. I can’t honestly say I would vote for him, but I’ll certainly be rooting for him.