BOSTON — Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman has a new, very unique entrance video at Fenway Park — and it includes a tribute to the late Luis Tiant, a fellow Cuba native.
As Chapman ran in from the bullpen to take the mound in the top of the ninth inning Friday, Tiant appeared on the Fenway video boards, lighting and smoking his signature cigar for a period of about 15 seconds. As Celia Cruz’s “La Vida Es Un Carnival” plays, a puff of white smoke from Tiant’s cigar serves a transition to a quick clip of Chapman holding the Cuban flag before a montage of his highlights in a Red Sox uniform in concert with salsa dancers performing to the song. In total, the clip lasts about 75 seconds.
At the beginning of the season, the Red Sox used stock video from spring training as Chapman entered games. Then, with some footage of regular season highlights in the bank, the Red Sox Productions team got to work before the third homestand of the season. The video, which debuted May 7 when Chapman faced the Rangers, is a way for the club and Chapman to honor “El Tiante,” who died on October 8 at age 83. And while Tiant’s inclusion was the team’s idea, Chapman — who met Tiant and went to dinner with the Red Sox Hall of Famer while visiting Boston as a free agent after defecting from Cuba in 2009 — was fully on board.
“For all the Cuban baseball players who had the pleasure to meet him, it’s a great example for all of us,” Chapman said Sunday, though translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “He’s one of the best Cuban pitchers who has been in the league and it was a pleasure I got to meet him.”
Tiant, a Marianao, Cuba native, pitched eight seasons in Boston, logging a 3.36 ERA in 274 appearances (238 starts) between 1971 and 1978. After his playing days, he was omni-present around the Red Sox, with whom he spent 31 years in the organization as a player, coach, broadcaster, and special assignment instructor.
The Red Sox honored Tiant before the home opener and have an “El Tiante” tribute sign on one of the light towers over the Green Monster this season. The late Red Sox Hall of Famer has been on Chapman’s mind throughout the year.
“Thank God, I’m lucky to be in this uniform for this year,” Chapman said. “Every time you go out there, you want to have that kind of career he had. Every Cuban player, every pitcher that comes through this league, they have a small piece of the career he had in the big leagues. It’s something to make you proud of.”
Chapman has paid homage to Tiant with dominance on the mound, too. The former Yankee has exceeded preseason expectations after signing a one-year, $10.75 million contract in December, posting a 2.12 ERA, striking out 25 batters and converting all six save chances in 19 appearances for Boston so far this season. Chapman’s success has been predicated on a walk rate that has dropped from a career average of 4.6 BB/9 (and 5.7 last season in Pittsburgh) to 3.7 this year and a fastball that, despite Chapman being 37 years old, has averaged 99.3 mph and maxed out at 103.8 mph.
““Because of strike-throwing,” Cora said when asked why Chapman has been so succesful. “It’s not about the other stuff. We knew that, about the teammate and the work ethic.
“He has been solid. He’s going to go through stretches where he’s going to struggle, like everybody else, but I think the strike-throwing is something we were hoping was going to happen and the group has done an amazing job with him. He has bought into the concept, he has bought into what we believe, and he has been solid.”
