During a recent trip to a BoSox baseball game at Fenway Park I was thrilled to see 81-year-old Red Sox pitching legend Luis Tiant visiting the old ballyard. He naturally received a big ovation when his presence was acknowledged.
But as I looked around at the applauding fans, it occurred to me that most of them weren’t even born when “El Tiante” threw his last Red Sox pitch at Fenway against the Toronto Blue Jays.
It was Sunday, October 1, 1978—the last day of the regular season, and Boston trailed the Yankees by one game. It was obviously a must-win for Boston, and there was no better pitcher to have on the mound for such a game than Tiant. The wily Cuban twirled a two-hit shutout. Boston’s 5-0 win was its eighth straight triumph as the Sox desperately chased the Yankees for the American League East title. The Yankees had won six straight going into their Sunday finale.
All the Yankees needed to do was win at home that day against the lowly Cleveland Indians to clinch the pennant. As Tiant shut down the Jays, fans kept checking the score from Yankee Stadium.
Somehow the Indians prevailed. Fenway Park’s giant screen flashed the news. And then the simple words: “Thank You Rick Waits.” Waits was the Indian pitcher that day, and like Dave Roberts, Bernie Carbo, Malcolm Butler, and Gerald Henderson, he earned New England sports immortality with his effort that October 1. And he didn’t even play for Boston! I’m sure that even today, Red Sox fans thank him and buy him drinks.
It all set up a one-game playoff with the Yankees the next day at Fenway. The Bucky Dent game.
(No need to relive THAT!)
The next year Tiant signed with the Yankees.
(No need to relive THAT either.)
But it was especially cool to see El Tiante again because I’d gone to that July game with fellow legislator Jose Cambrils, who like Tiant, is a refugee from Communist Cuba.
So, I pondered baseball’s Cuban connection. Cuba’s always been a baseball hotbed—perhaps producing the highest percentage of MLB prospects per capita anywhere. Indeed, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro especially loved baseball. But contrary to legend, he never really had a tryout with the Washington Senators. He was never that good. Which is too bad because had he been a great baseball player, he may not have become a murderous Communist tyrant.
The 20-year-old Tiant was pitching in Mexico in 1960 when Castro consolidated his Communist control in Cuba. Luis wouldn’t see his parents again until 1975—another special year for El Tiante when he helped the Red Sox advance to a memorable World Series.
(In fact, while the Red Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games, Boston won all three games that Tiant started.)
But with Castro now gone, what’s happening with modern-day Cuban baseball prospects?
One such prospect was Rusney Castillo, whom the Red Sox signed on August 23, 2014, for $72.5 million. That was a lot of money in those pre-inflation days. Castillo essentially had to defect from Cuba to get that MLB shot, as the Communists still wouldn’t allow their stars to play elsewhere.
The 27-year-old Castillo wore the same number 38 that he’d worn in Cuba. He’d get his first MLB hit that September 17 at Fenway. But he’d spend most of those seven years playing Triple AAA ball in Pawtucket. MLB stardom eluded him.
Which brings us to a new documentary: The Last Out. This film chronicles the trials and tribulations, the heartbreak and frustration of Cuban baseball players chasing MLB dreams despite oppressive Communist tyranny.
A lucky few found their way to stardom, like Houston Astros superstar Yordan Álvarez. But thousands of others were unable to navigate the political shoals separating Cuba from the USA. It’s a (mostly) heartbreaking saga—but an important one for those interested in sports sociology and the world beyond box seats and box scores. It’s also a reminder regarding the true nature of Communism—a totalitarian ideology that so many “progressives” seem to want to gloss over.
The stories portrayed in The Last Out remind us how blessedly lucky we are to live in America—which truly remains a land of opportunity. Just ask Jose Cambrils.
Gratitude is good. That’s why the “Thank You Rick Waits” message at Fenway that long ago October 1 still resonates with those of us who watched the BoSox that day.
And “Thank You Luis Tiant” too!
