WORCESTER, Mass. — Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant has died at 83. The three-time All-Star saw most of his major league success during his eight seasons with the Red Sox, where he became known among fans as ‘El Tiante’.

Dr. Charles Steinberg, president of the Worcester Red Sox, got to know Tiant when they both worked for the big-league club.

“Always humor, always a smile, there would always be laughter,” Steinberg said. “It’s a really special personality for someone who, by the way, was one of the greatest pitchers of his generation.”

Early on in his tenure with the Red Sox, Tiant’s career appeared to be fading fast as a nagging shoulder injury took the bite out of his fastball. As he told Steinberg years later, it took a full reinvention of himself to get back to being the All-Star caliber pitcher he once was.

“He explained to me why he developed that corkscrew delivery,” Steinberg said. “He said, ‘Look, I needed something. I was not the fire-baller that I had been in the first part of my career. One day, I just completely turned by back on the hitter as I spun around. A hitter’s eyes got so wide, like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I knew I had them.'”

For Steinberg and countless fans, the highlight of Tiant’s career was an emotional 1975 World Series debut in Game 1 with some special guests sitting in the stands.

“He was united with his parents for the first time since he escaped Castro’s Cuba in the early 60s,” Steinberg said. “Castro loved baseball and allowed Luis’ parents to come see him.”

Tiant’s complicated relationship with Cuba and family members who remained there was the subject of the 2009 documentary, ‘The Lost Son of Havana’. In the documentary, Tiant returned to his home country for the first time in 46 years.

Upon its release, ‘El Tiante’ himself said the story is as important to understanding his legacy as anything he did on the diamond.

“At least when people buy the movie or want to see the movie, they’re going to remember me, and that’s a great thing, at least people will remember me for being a great human being, not just a ball player,” Tiant said.