Luis Tiant in '68

I think we all can relate to that observation by Cy Curnin* of the Fixx who said: "One thing (one, one thing) leads to another (to another)." A Red Sox-Yankee blog leads to Dave Kingman which leads to the story of a few unlucky baseball souls which leads to Luis Tiant. Which leads to perhaps the most unappreciated pitching season in baseball history.

In 1968 -- that year when Bob Gibson had his 1.12 ERA and Denny McLain won 30 -- Luis Tiant went 21-9 with a 1.60 ERA. It's the lowest ERA for an American League starter in the last 88 years (going back to Walter Johnson in the year of the Black Sox).

Of course, the ERA is a bit of an illusion -- the entire American League had a 2.98 ERA that year, so Tiant's ERA+ is roughly the equivalent of Jason Schmidt's 2003 season (17-5, 2.34 ERA, 183 ERA+). Sam McDowell, on the same Cleveland staff in '68, went 15-14 with a 1.81 ERA. It was that kind of year.

Still, people still talk about Gibson's amazing 1968 season (Tidbit: Take away that remarkable year, Gibson's career record is 229-165 with a 3.07 ERA).

People still talk about McLain's 31-victory year, you know at least in various American prisons A couple of McLain '68 tidbits: He had no decisions in his first two starts and lost his final start; his six losses that year were by scores of 10-8 (he only went two innings in that one) 2-0, 5-3, 10-2 (he gave up seven unearned runs) 2-1 and 2-1.

But nobody talks about Tiant in '68. He was coming off a pretty good season in '67 -- 12-9, 2.74 ERA, and he had struck out 219 batters in 213 innings. But he had a fairly indifferent start to the season. His first appearance was in relief of McDowell and he went 3 1/3 innings. His next time out he pitched well; he threw a four-hitter against the White Sox and beat them 3-1. Next time out, he only went four innings against the Boston Red Sox -- Reggie Smith took him deep. So he was 1-2 with a 3.31 ERA on April 28.

For the next 20 starts, Tiant was about as good as anyone ever.

April 28 at Washington
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 7 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 2, Washington 0.
Summary: Second game of a doubleheader. ... Del Unser led off the first with a single. Ken McMullen singled in the fourth. And that was it. The only baserunner to reach after McMullen was Mike Epstein, who got on when Jose Cardenal dropped a fly ball in center field. .. Tiant struck out the side in the ninth to finish it off.

May 3 vs. Minnesota
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 9 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 4, Minnesota 0.
Summary: In front of 5,106 passionate fans (I hope), Tiant blew away a lineup with two Hall of Famers (Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew) and two Hall of Could Have Beens (Tony Oliva and Bob Allison). Carew got the first hit in the third, meaning Tiant had retired 25 batters over two games without giving up a hit. ... Retired the last nine he faced.

May 7 at New York Yankees
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 10 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 8, Yankees 0.
Summary: He didn't give up a hit until Tom Tresh's two-out double in the fourth. ... Gave up two hits in the ninth -- first time in the stretch that he gave up two hits in an inning. ... Struck out Mickey Mantle twice . ... Nice crowd at Yankee Stadium, 6,630. People do forget the dark Yankees years.

May 12 at Baltimore
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 10 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 2, Baltimore 0.
Summary: Tiant's fourth consecutive shutout. ... He was able to outduel Tom Phoebus, who threw eight innings and allowed just one run. Phoebus would go 15-15 with a 2.62 ERA. He also struck out 193 that year -- that's a modern day record for pitchers shorter than 5-foot-9. You simply cannot argue with the meaningless free information you get on this blog, which reminds me: You HAVE bought the book right? That Amazon sales ranking is suddenly higher than Pete Rose's hit total, which isn't great. ... The score was 0-0 going into the sixth when Tony Horton hit an RBI single. Now, there's another interesting story: Tony Horton. Maybe next blog. ... The only others the last 50 years to throw four consecutive shutouts are:

1. Don Drysdale (six straight, 1968, about a month later than Tiant).
2. Bob Gibson (five straight, 1968, his streak started two days after Drysdale's ended).
3. Gaylord Perry (four straight, 1970).
4. Ray Culp (four straight, 1968 -- wow, that might have been a good pitcher's year).
5. Ray Herbert (1963 -- interesting story. He was really just a workhorse pitcher -- right around .500 for his career, lots of innings, few strikeouts, mediocre ERA. But on May 1 that year, the shut out Baltimore and allowed just four hits. Four days later, he shut out the Senators on three hits. Four days after that, he shut out the Yankees on TWO hits. And on May 14, he shut out the Tigers. The rest of the year, he went 8-9 with a 3.65 ERA. He did lead the league with nine shutouts, though).

May 17 vs. Baltimore
Tiant's line: 7 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 6 walks, 9 K. Loss.
Final score: Baltimore 6, Cleveland 2.
Summary: The first five innings, Tiant was his usual unhittable self -- score was 1-0 Cleveland through five. That made 41 consecutive shutout innings -- the second time that Tiant had a streak of 40-plus shutout innings. Only Walter Johnson (I think) has two shutout streaks that long ... In the sixth, Tiant struck out Davey Johnson, walked Curt Blefary and then forced Frank Robinson to hit a grounder to second that may or may not (can't tell on Retrosheet) been a sure double play. I suspect yes. Anyway, Indians second baseman Chico Salmon booted the ball. Next batter, Boog Powell, hit a three-run homer. ...

May 21 vs. Oakland
Tiant's line: 8 inning, 7 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 2 walks, 5 K. Loss.
Final score: Oakland 2, Cleveland 0.
Summary: Beaten by Blue Moon Odom, who threw a 7-hit shutout ... Tiant did not seem to have great stuff today. He gave up three singles to fourth to allow Oakland the first run. The second came when Ray Webster's grounder was booted by Cleveland third baseman Max Alvis. It's worth noting that Webster -- who hit .214 with three homers in '68 -- was hitting cleanup for Oakland.

May 26 at California
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 12 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 5, California 2.
Summary: Both California runs came on homers. Paul Schaal, who is a chiropractor here Kansas City now and seems like a very nice guy, hit one of them. The other was a homer by Chuck Hinton in the eighth inning. ... Tiant's season ERA is now 1.37.

May 31 vs. Washington
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 0 walks, 4 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 8, Washington 3.
Summary: Pretty blah game. Indians jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first when Lee Maye and Tony Horton both homered off Senators' starter Phil Ortega. ... Indians were up 5-0 in the fourth, when Tiant gave up the unearned run when Lee Maye dropped a Ken McMullen's pop-up. The other two runs scored when the Indians were up 8-1 and Tiant allowed after back-to-back doubles to Paul Casanova and Cap Peterson.

June 4 vs. Chicago
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 6 walks, 6 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 2, Chicago 1.
Summary: Beat Gary Peters, who threw eight strong innings. ... Tiant's brilliance had really begun to inspire Cleveland fans as 7,215 poured into Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Hey don't blame me; I was one-year-old at the time. ... The run scored after a walk, sacrifice bunt and Bill Voss' single. That actually gave Chicago a 1-0 lead. But the Tribe got to Peters in the eighth for two. A key hit? Luis Tiant's single.

June 9 at Detroit
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 6 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 2, Detroit 0.
Summary: Here's a classic -- Tiant beat McLain in front of 52,000-plus. The big hit for Cleveland was by a wonderful guy, Joe Azcue, who singled in Duke Sims in the fifth. Sims later added a home run -- he scored both runs. ... The only Tigers player to even reach second base was pinch hitter Gates Brown, who doubled in the eighth. Tiant promptly struck out Dick McAulliffe to end that mini-threat.

June 14 vs. Boston
Tiant's line: 6 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), 7 walks, 10 K. Loss.
Final score: Boston 7, Cleveland 2.
Summary: Things sort of fell apart late. Tiant started off the game with four shutout innings. Then in the fifth, up 1-0, he walked Yaz and gave up a two-run homer to Ken Harrelson, who was something of a nemesis for Tiant in his career. ... In the sixth, Joe Foy reached on an error by center fielder Jose Cardenal. And then, strangely, with Foy on first and two outs, Tiant intentionally walked Yaz to face Harrelson again. Yaz was obviously the most dangerous hitter in the league since he was coming off the Triple Crown year and was on his way to the batting title. But still ... Harrelson deposited another homer. He hit seven off of Tiant in his career. ... That was more than enough for Dick Ellsworth.

June 19 at Chicago
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 6 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 3, Chicago 1.
Summary: This one looked bad through 5. White Sox pitcher Bob Priddy threw five shutout innings and hit a home run in the fifth to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. The Indians scraped the tying run in the sixth, the key hit being Duke Sims' double. Tiant allowed one hit the rest of the way, the Tribe managed two runs in the seventh (Tiant's sacrifice bunt being key) and 8,600 White Sox fans went home unhappy.

June 23 vs. Detroit
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 9 K. Win
Final score: Cleveland 3, Detroit 0.
Summary: Second straight shutout against the Tigers. This time he beat John Hiller. A quick note on Hiller: His 1973 season might be the best relief-pitching season in baseball history. He won 10 games, saved 38, pitched 125 innings and had a 1.44 ERA. I suspect that had saves been considered a big deal in 1973 (he had set the record), he would have won the Cy Young ... Anyway Hiller was lousy on this day; he only lasted 1/3 of an inning. The Indians started off: Walk, single, single, groundout and Joe Azcue's two run double. And Hiller was gone. ... The Tigers didn't get anyone to third base off of Tiant. And everyone in the starting lineup except Jim Northrup struck out.

June 29 at Boston
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 13 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 8, Boston 1.
Summary: Tiant wasn't fooling around this time. He struck out Hawk Harrelson three times and Yaz twice. ... Red Sox were losing 8-0 but managed at least to spoil the shutout when Rico Petrocelli doubled in Reggie Smith, who had walked. ... Joe Azcue who caught this game remembered this being a day when Tiant's stuff was particularly electrifying. Well, this game and the next one.

July 3 vs. Minnesota
Tiant's line: 10 innings, 6 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 19 K. Yes 19. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 1, Minnesota 0 (10 innings).
Summary: One of the best pitched games in Cleveland Indians history -- there with Feller's no-hitter at Yankee Stadium, Len Barker's el-perfecto, Sam McDowell's 11-inning shutout that same year, Dennis Eckersley's no-hitter with 12K, Stan Williams 10-inning, 2-hit shutout that same year. ... Tiant did not look all that sharp early. He gave up back-to-back singles in the second but got out of it by striking out Jackie Hernandez. ... He struck out one in the first, two in the second, two in the third, and then he really started to feel it. ... In the fourth he struck out Oliva and Rich Reese back to back. ... In the fifth he struck out the side. ... Cesar Tovar led off the sixth with a double which he tried to stretch into a triple and was thrown out. Tiant struck out Jim Holt then. ... In the sixth, he struck out the unforgettable Frank Quilici, his 12th strikeout of the game. ... In the eighth, he struck out the side again, and it was the same three batters (Johnny Roseboro, Jackie Hernandez and Jim Merritt) he had whiffed in the fifth. ... He struck out killer in the ninth for his 16th strikeout. And then in the 10th, he struck out the side, the victims were Johnny Roseboro (again), Rich Rollins (pinch-hitting for Jackie Hernandez) and Jim Merritt. That's 19.

BUT, Merritt was brilliant on the mound. He allowed two hits through nine innings. In the 10th, Sweet Lou Johnson singled and went to second on an error. Then Joe Azcue singled him home to win the game. Azcue has said catching that game is one of the greatest memories of his life.

July 7 vs. California
Tiant's line: 6 1/3, 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 7 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 8, California 3.
Summary: Tiant gave up a run in the first, but the Indians scored four in the bottom of the inning -- the key blow being Duke Sims 3-run homer. Tiant followed up by striking out the side in the second. ... Tiant really didn't have his great stuff on this day. He gave up more hits than innings pitched for the only time that season. He was pulled in the middle of an inning for the only time during the 20-start streak.

July 14 at Minnesota
Tiant's line: 6 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 6 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 6, Minnesota 3.
Summary: Another bland start, though these days we would call it a "Quality start." ... Indians were up 4-0 when he gave up a two-run homer to Johnny Roseboro. He had struck out Roseboro four consecutive times before this. ... Tony Oliva drove in the other Twins run.

July 20 at New York Yankees
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 5 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 3, New York 0.
Summary: Luis was back. He took a no-hitter into the seventh and had it broken up by Mickey Mantle (who was immediately erased on a double play). ... Indians scored only run they needed in the first off of Fritz Peterson -- a sacrifice fly by Sweet Lou Johnson. ... Much better crowd at Yankee Stadium this time. There were 38,000 plus. Maybe it was bat day.

July 24 at Baltimore.
Tiant's line: 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 6 K. Loss.
Final score: Baltimore 1, Cleveland 0.
Summary: Boog Powell, that Tiant nemesis (Powell hit .348 with 9 homers against Tiant in his career), hit a double to score the game's only run. ... Dave McNally, who finished that year 22-10 with a 1.95 ERA, was sensational. He allowed six hits, didn't walk anybody and threw the complete game shutout. ... The Indians actually had the tying run in scoring position in the ninth after Jose Cardinal doubled. But then Cardinal was thrown out trying to steal third to end the game -- it's hard to imagine a much worse baseball decision.

July 28, vs. New York Yankees
Tiant's line: 9 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 10 K. Win.
Final score: Cleveland 3, New York 2.
Summary: The Yankees finally scored a run on Tiant on a Bobby Cox RBI single, and they actually had a 2-1 lead when Jake Gibbs added his own RBI single. But Fritz Peterson couldn't hold it. He allowed solo homers to Sweet Lou, Joe Azcue and Tommy Harper. ... Tiant struck out Mickey Mantle three times.

OK, those are the 20 amazing starts. Truth is, Tiant was amazing all year. After this, he had a 16-strikeout victory against Minnesota. He was hurt for part of September, but he finished the year with an 11-strikeout, 1-hit shutout at Yankee Stadium. ... The league hit .168 off of Tiant, which is still a record. Heck, the league hit .184 against Gibson that year. ... And how about this consistency: Right-handers hit .168 against Tiant. Left-handers hit .168 against Tiant. In the first half, the hit .166 against him. In the second half, .170. At home, they hit .196 against him. On the road, they only hit .145. ... Honestly, there has never been another year quite like it.

But I want to take one more second to look specifically at those 20 starts. He went 16-4 with a 1.13 ERA. He allowed 93 hits in 167 innings and struck out 168. He threw 15 complete games and eight shutouts. All 20 starts were "quality starts" if you care about that. And here's a fun little stat -- all six people who tried to steal bases against Tiant were caught.