The native of Cuba arrived from the Mexican League and debuted for the Tribe in 1964, going 10-4 with a 2.83 ERA as a rookie. Tiant remained in the starting rotation for the Indians throughout the 60s, and though he did not win a lot of Games early in his career, he was tenth in bWAR for Pitchers in 1964 and 1966 and seventh in 1967.
Tiant broke out in 1968, leading the AL in bWAR for Pitchers (8.5), ERA (1.60), and H/9 (5.296), and his 264 Strikeouts were a career-high. He went to his first All-Star Game and was fifth in MVP voting that year. Tiant also had 21 Wins, the first time he cracked the magical 20 mark. He fell back to earth in 1969, losing 20 Games, but anyone who loses that many games have to be good enough to appear in that many.
The Indians traded Tiant to Minnesota, and he was a member of the BoSox a year after. With Cleveland, Tiant had a record of 75-64 with 1,041 Strikeouts and a 2.84 ERA.
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