The Lost Son of Havana

I was born in the Boston area in 1968. When I was a young kid, Luis Tiant was the single most popular player on the Red Sox. It wasn't Yaz or Fisk, or Lynn or Rice. It was El Tiante.

This documentary does an incredible job of relating Tiant's life history, and the history of his father, Luis (Lefty) Tiant, Sr., who pitched in the Negro League. There are so many aspects of this story that I didn't know, and they make for a compelling story. The film deals with the Cuban embargo, his parents he'd left behind, and his amazing MLB career, which peaked with his two victories over the Big Red Machine in the 1975 World Series. I still remember the Boston Globe Sports page featuring a cartoon of Luis unplugging the machine! Every baseball fan should see this film. It will be particularly meaningful to Red Sox fans of my age, but all baseball fans (which includes of course all Cubans) should give this a watch. I hope ESPN rebroadcasts it. It's really quite special.