Changing places

Longtime Boston Red Sox ace Luis Tiant defects 44 years ago today as the free agent pitcher signs a two-year, $875,000 deal – hey, that is a lot of money in baseball at the time – with the rival New York Yankees.

The colorful, cigar-chomping Tiant, who is 10 days shy of his 38th birthday when he signs with New York, is a pedestrian 21-17 with a 4.31 earned-run average in two seasons for the Yankees before drifting off to Pittsburgh and Anaheim for the final two years of an otherwise outstanding pro career that starts in 1961 with the Mexico City Tigers.

Tiant finishes his career in the majors with a record of 229-172 and a 3.30 ERA, along with three All-Star Game selections and two ERA titles.