Red Sox Nation says goodbye to a legend.
A signed 8X10 picture of Luis Tiant was the first autograph I ever owned. I didn’t even meet the man in-person (he swung through the restaurant where my dad worked one day) and I never even saw him play, but I cherished that picture and the foundational era of Red Sox baseball it represented. I mention this only because I suspect that there are more Luis Tiant autographs scattered around New England than autographs of any other former Boston athlete — that’s how much El Tiante ingratiated himself into the community. RIP to a Sox legend. (John Powers, Boston Globe)
In fact, Tiant may have been “the hippest, coolest cat ever to wear a Red Sox uniform.” (Steve Buckley, The Athletic)
And as a testament to the strength of his personality, tributes to Tiant have been flowing in from all over the baseball world. (Lauren Campbell, MassLive)
But while he’s beloved throughout this region, Tiant sadly never made it to Cooperstown. To many Sox fans and media members, that’s a damn shame. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
If there’s anyone destined to assume Tiant’s mantle of beloved Latin star who remains in and around the club for the rest of his life, that person is surely David Ortiz. But we’ve got a long time to go before Papi eases into the lounging around Jersey Street before games stage of his life. And right now Papi is busy helping Mookie Betts bust out of a slump during the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Padres. (Gio Rivera, NESN)
But he’s hardly the only former Red Sox player making headlines in the MLB Postseason. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts currently finds himself in the middle of the world’s dumbest baseball scandal, which involves Manny Machado and a lightly tossed baseball. Not a great look, Dave. (Erich Richter, New York Post)