FORT MYERS, Fla. — Chris Sale returned to JetBlue Park Saturday as a member of the Atlanta Braves, and upon his arrival the former Red Sox ace paid tribute to the late Luis Tiant by emulating his distinctive wind-up and delivery on the first pitch of the game.

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“That was something I’d had this start circled for a little bit,” Sale told reporters afterwards, per audio from MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “Who Luis was to me and what he meant to me, not only in baseball but in life, he was one of my favorite people. Any time he came in the clubhouse he was like one of those larger than life characters and he was a special person. I felt like that was something cool for me to be able to do to tip my cap to him.”

Sale, who struck out nine Red Sox batters over six dominant innings, recounted how Tiant was always around and was always willing to offer a helping hand. He recounted one instance when he was struggling with his mechanics, but after a 20-minute conversation with the Red Sox legend, he was able to figure things out and turned in a much stronger performance his next time on the mound.

“He was in the clubhouse a lot and he would come in and he was a guy who could have some pretty good ball talk,” Sale said. “He could bust your chops with the best of them and on the flip side he’d kiss you on the forehead and tell you he loved you on his way out. He was just a special guy.”

Now entering his second season with the Atlanta Braves, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner says he still keeps tabs on his former team and believes the club has enough talent to compete.

And while he’s glad he was able to pay tribute to Tiant, he joked that probably won’t try to copy his wind-up on a regular basis.

“To be able to do all that and find the zone as much as he did was impressive,” Sale said.