‘A smile that could light up Fenway Park’: What was Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant’s cause of death?

The world of sports has had a difficult October, just over one week into the month, as it reels from yet another high-profile loss.

Various sports, from basketball and football to baseball, have seen multiple losses across the first week of October, with the Red Sox’ Luis Tiant joining Dutch football player Johan Neeskens, Canadian ice hockey player John Henderson, and Kenyan long-distance runner Samson Kandie, among several others.

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a beloved fixture, and Tiant was among the most universally beloved Red Sox pitchers out there. His loss is hitting fans, former teammates, and friends of the 83-year-old hard, as they look back on his impressive legacy.

Do we know Luis Tiant’s cause of death?

Details surrounding Tiant’s death have yet to be disclosed, leaving sorrowful fans to wonder about his cause of death. Further information will likely be released eventually, but for now people are far more focused on remembering the esteemed player.

Luis Tiant was incredibly well-liked by those who knew him. His former teammates, and even the Red Sox principal owner, John Henry, have shared nothing but praise for the longtime MLB fixture in the wake of his death, praising him for his “zest for life” and “unforgettable presence.”

Emphasizing Tiant’s “incredible talent,” Henry gushed over Tiant’s style, influence, and passion, and expressed “he was magnetic and had a smile that could light up Fenway Park. Luis was truly one-of-a-kind and all of us at the Red Sox will miss him.”

Henry was joined by several other longtime friends of Tiant’s, including Red Sox Chairman, Tom Werner. Werner called the Cuban player “a cornerstone of the Red Sox pitching staff,” and praised his “unmatched grit and tenacity on the mound.”

Across his baseball career, Tiant played for several teams — alongside the Red Sox, he also graced the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and California Angels with his talent — and, in the process, took home 229 victories. One hundred and twenty-two of those wins were achieved during his time with the Red Sox, which contributed massively to his persisting popularity among the team’s fans.

Fans flocked to social media to share similar sentiments, mourning the fact that Tiant’s iconic windup will never be seen in person again. It’s immortalized through countless game-day replays, however, captured across the player’s impressive tenure on the pitch. The 83-year-old spent 19 years with Major League Baseball, compiling an impressive record and, in 1997, earning his spot in the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

There was frequent praise for Tiant’s iconic pitching style, alongside references to his longtime nickname — El Tiante — and his status as a baseball legend.

Even after he retired from the MLB, baseball was always in Tiant’s blood. He retired from the league in 1982, and in the years following he stayed as active in the sport as possible. He spent years as a minor league coach, and during the 1996 Summer Olympics even lent his coaching talents to the Nicaraguan team. That’s on top of his time coaching college baseball, offering up his passion, heart, and genuine skill to a fresh generation of pitchers.