Luis Tiant burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 at just 23 years old, quickly establishing himself as one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.

After notching double-digit victories in each of his first four seasons, Tiant took his game to another level -- one few pitchers have ever achieved -- in 1968. The right-hander turned in one of the most dominant pitching campaigns in MLB history, continuing along what seemed to be, at the time, a Hall of Fame trajectory.

Unfortunately for Tiant, he sustained a shoulder injury in 1970 -- followed by a series of smaller ailments -- that derailed his career a bit, though he rebounded briefly to post a 1.91 ERA with the Red Sox in '72. Despite the injuries, Tiant still pieced together a brilliant 19-year career that featured 229 wins, a 3.30 ERA and 2,416 strikeouts over 3,486 1/3 big league innings.

On his birthday, here's a look at 10 of the best moments and accolades from Tiant's career.

1. 19-strikeout shutout

Tiant turned in one of the most dominant outings in MLB history -- and one that will likely never be replicated -- on July 3, 1968, against the Twins. Already in the midst of a magnificent season on the mound (more on that later), Tiant not only tossed a 10-inning shutout, but struck out 19 batters in the process. Though it obviously used to be more common for starters to pitch beyond the ninth, no player in MLB history has ever recorded as many strikeouts as Tiant’s 19 in a shutout of more than nine innings.

Eleven Twins players had at least one strikeout in the contest, including Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who went down swinging as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth. Tiant’s shutout seemed to be in serious jeopardy one inning later, when Minnesota put runners on the corners with nobody out in the top of the 10th. The righty responded by striking out three straight batters to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the 10th, where Lou Johnson roped a leadoff double and Joe Azcue followed with a walk-off single to secure the 1-0 victory for Cleveland.

2. Oh, so close: Trio of one-hitters

Tiant first flirted with a no-hitter in just his second MLB season. Only 24 years old at the time, he took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against the Washington Senators on June 16, 1965, before Woodie Hield ended it with a leadoff single. Tiant ultimately finished the day with a one-hit shutout, while striking out seven batters and even driving in a run with an RBI single at the plate.

Tiant would go on to throw two other one-hit shutouts in his career. The two players standing between Tiant and history in those outings? Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Mickey Mantle. Pitching at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 25, 1968, Tiant gave up a first-inning single to Mantle before silencing the Yanks’ offense the rest of the way. Tiant ultimately finished with 11 strikeouts -- including two of Mantle -- in a one-hit shutout in the Bronx.

Then, pitching for the Yankees more than a decade later, Tiant again twirled a one-hit shutout -- this time against the A’s on July 8, 1979. His only blemish on the day was a single by Henderson to begin the fourth inning. Tiant faced just one over the minimum, striking out four in a 2-0 victory at the Coliseum.

3. Dazzling debut

Tiant made it clear from the first time he toed the rubber on July 19, 1964, that he was ready for the game’s biggest stage. Just 23 years old at the time, Tiant made his MLB debut against a Roger Maris-led Yankees team at the historic Yankee Stadium. Tiant not only struck out the first batter he ever faced (Tony Kubek), but he also struck out Maris to end the first inning en route to an 11-stikeout, four-hit shutout. Tiant outdueled Hall of Famer Whitey Ford in Cleveland's 3-0 victory.

4. Remarkable 1968 campaign

Tiant’s 1968 campaign was simply one of the best by any pitcher in MLB history. Sure, it came during the “Year of the Pitcher,” but Tiant -- who went 21-9 with a 1.60 ERA and 254 strikeouts in 32 starts (including 19 complete games and nine shutouts) -- managed to stand out in a year full of stand-out pitching performances. His 1.60 ERA led the AL and remains the fourth-best in a single season in the Live Ball Era (since 1920), trailing only Bob Gibson (1.12 ERA in ’68), Dwight Gooden (1.53 in ’85) and Greg Maddux (1.56 in ’94).

Only three players in the Live Ball Era have finished a season with a sub-2.00 ERA, 250 strikeouts and at least nine shutouts: Tiant, Gibson and Sandy Koufax (1963).

As for perhaps the most remarkable part of that 1968 campaign ...

5. Four consecutive shutouts

In one of the more remarkable pitching runs in MLB history, Tiant uncorked four straight shutouts -- including three on the road -- from April 28-May 12, 1968. The streak started with a two-hit shutout against the Washington Senators in the second game of an April 28 doubleheader, then continued with a three-hit shutout of the Twins on May 3. He then held the Yankees scoreless in a May 7 showdown at Yankee Stadium before putting up a fourth consecutive zero in the opening game of a May 12 doubleheader against the Orioles. Tiant then began his next outing -- also against the O’s -- with five scoreless frames before finally serving up a three-run homer to Boog Powell.

The only players with a longer streak of shutouts in MLB history are Don Drysdale (six games), Orel Hershiser (five), Bob Gibson (five) and Doc White (five).

6. Family reunion

When Cleveland purchased Tiant’s contract for $35,000 in the summer of 1961, it came at a time when tensions were rising between the United States and Cuba. So while Tiant planned to return home to Cuba with his new wife later that year, he instead received a letter from his father, Luis Tiant Sr., instructing him not to come. He feared that if his son returned to Cuba, he would not be able to leave again -- nor would he be able to play sports professionally in Cuba.

Thus, the younger Tiant went 14 years without seeing his parents. They wouldn’t reunite until 1975, when his mother and father received a special visa allowing them to visit their son in the United States. The first time Tiant’s parents saw him pitch at any level since high school came on Aug. 26, 1975, when he toed the rubber against the Angels at Fenway Park. Prior to Luis Jr. taking the mound, however, the public address announcer introduced the elder Tiant -- a star pitcher in his own right in the Negro Leagues -- who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. As his son tells the story, Tiant didn’t like the pitch -- was a bit low and outside -- so he asked for the ball back, and proceeded to deliver an absolute strike to catcher Tim Blackwell, much to the delight of the Fenway faithful.

7. 1975 postseason prowess

Tiant’s parents were also in attendance later that year when he took the ball for the club’s ALCS opener against the A’s at Fenway Park. He put on a show, allowing just one unearned run off three hits while earning a complete-game victory -- and he was just getting started. With the Red Sox sweeping the A’s in three games, Tiant’s next start came in Game 1 of the ’75 World Series against the Reds. Tiant silenced Cincinnati’s vaunted Big Red Machine, hurling a five-hit shutout to lift Boston to a 6-0 victory. He also ignited the seventh-inning rally in which the Red Sox scored all six of their runs by lacing a leadoff single before scoring the game’s first run on a Carl Yastrzemski base hit. The Red Sox went 3-0 in Tiant’s starts, but they lost each of the other four games as the Reds claimed the title.

8. All-Star Game start

Tiant made a trio of All-Star appearances in his career, including getting the starting nod for the AL squad in 1968. Though he worked his way into some first-inning trouble following a leadoff single by Willie Mays, Tiant limited the damage to just one unearned run after getting Willie McCovey to ground into a rally-killing double play. Tiant ended his outing with a pair of strikeouts over two innings, though that unearned run proved to be the lone tally in a 1-0 victory for the NL at the Astrodome. He later made relief appearances in both the ’74 and ’76 All-Star Games as a member of the Red Sox.

9. Fenway first pitch

Though Tiant and the Red Sox came up short in the 1975 World Series -- despite going 3-0 in his three starts -- he was able to play a part in the club’s 2013 title-clinching win. Before Game 6 of the ’13 Fall Classic, Tiant and former batterymate Carlton Fisk teamed up to deliver the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park, setting the tone for Boston’s World Series-clinching 6-1 win over St. Louis.

10. Strolling down the Halls

Tiant earned enough consideration to remain on the Hall of Fame ballot for the maximum 15 years, though he maxed out at 30.9% of the votes in his first year. While he’s since been unable to earn election via the Hall’s Eras Committees, Tiant has earned plenty of recognition outside of Cooperstown. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in ’09.