Yankees and the Hall of Fame: Luis Tiant
- James Vlietstra
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
by James Vlietstra
***
Over the next many months, I am going to review the credentials of several former Yankees.
With all that being said, I am going to review the credentials of several former Yankees. Together, we can discuss if we believe that they are deserving of being included in the Hall Of Fame or not. I hope you read along and give me your opinions over the next several weeks.
Note - Some people currently in the Hall Of Fame are not specifically in for their merits as a player alone. For instance, Joe Torre didn't get in until after his success as a manager. Phil Rizzuto made it after a career as an announcer. Overall, their careers were definitely deserving. Similarly, Bill Mazeroski was generally considered a light hitting middle infielder, however, one iconic moment got him enshrined. I am including some of these type players too for us to discuss.
Today we are going to be discussing:
Luis Tiant
Played for six teams during his 19 year career, two with the Yankees.
His 66.1 WAR ranks 44th among pitchers and is higher than Roy Halladay and Bob Feller.
He had six seasons of 5.0+.
His 1.60 ERA in 1968 was the lowest in the AL in 49 years.
He was a three time all star.
He won 20+ games four times and his career total of 229 ranks 67th all time.
He had eight seasons of 200+ IP.
His 3,486 IP ranks 74 and his 2,416 strikeouts is 49th.
He is in the Venezuelan and Red Sox Hall Of Fame.
He was on the ballot from 1988-2002, receiving as much as 30.9% of the vote.
He was on the Veterans Committee ballot four additional times, failing to earn entry each time.
