It’s been nearly eight years since the last time Chris Sale was an opposing pitcher on the mound against the Red Sox.

What’s transpired for the organization since that June 21, 2016 game, when the top three batters in the lineup were Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, and Xander Bogaerts, could fill an entire library shelf, never mind a book. Sale’s time in Boston has come and gone, as have Betts, Pedroia, and Bogaerts. Deven Marrero, the No. 9 hitter and third baseman that day – Rafael Devers’ debut was just over 13 months away – is now a NESN analyst.

Sale arrived via a stunning trade from the Chicago White Sox, and departed just after this new year in similar fashion, agreeing to be dealt to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Vaughn Grissom. In between, he was the American League Cy Young runner-up, led the Red Sox to their record fourth championship this century, and signed a sizable extension, only to see his career derailed by injury after injury and surgery after surgery. He missed the entire 2020 season, most of 2021, all but 5 ⅔ innings in 2022. At various points last year, he was brilliant, vintage Sale again, but then he was gone.

But what the public often didn’t see – or perhaps didn’t want to see, because they were frustrated with the frequent, lengthy stints on the injured list – was how much of an impact Sale had on his teammates even when he wasn’t able to pitch.

And, how much of an impact he continues to have on players like Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck.

“He’s reached out a few times,” Houck told the Herald earlier this week. “He texted me after my (complete-game shutout Maddux). He texted me right after that and a few other outings. I went over to his house for the Super Bowl.”

Sale, 35, made his big-league debut when Houck was in high school, but the two pitchers joined the Red Sox organization within seven months of one another.

“When I first got drafted here and we had just made the Sale trade the year prior, I was so pumped to think that I would get to play with him one day,” Houck recalled. “And I did. He’s an incredible teammate, incredible person, and I mean, just so down-to-earth. Incredible guy but also incredible competitor.”

The Red Sox selected Houck in the first round of the 2017 June draft, as Sale was pitching his way towards an MLB-leading 214 ⅓ innings, 2.45 FIP, 308 strikes (a new career-high), and second place in American League Cy Young voting. The following season, the young pitching prospect watched as Sale and the Red Sox won a franchise-record 108 regular season games and bulldozed the opposition in the postseason, winning the World Series for the ninth time in franchise history. Even from afar, the campaign made an impact on Houck’s journey.

“I distinctly remember watching the ‘18 playoffs at home. I was still living with my mom at the time, and always had the games on,” he said. “I took in every moment. I remember watching that special team do what they did all year. At that time, I was telling myself, ‘I’m gonna be there soon. Prepare like you’re gonna be there,’ and my first full season (in ‘21), we made the playoffs.”

When Houck debuted late in the shortened 2020 season, Sale was recovering from Tommy John surgery away from the team due to COVID-19 restrictions. The following season, the two became teammates.

“Him being around later in ‘21 was phenomenal,” Houck said. “It was so great to have him around, to have his leadership and his experiences.”

The experience was not only informative, but inspirational for the right-hander, who was still a very green rookie. He saw firsthand how exacting Sale was as he went about his work and how hard he could be when he felt he hadn’t measured up to the standard he set for himself.

“I think being your biggest critic is a good thing,” Houck said. And yet, he revealed that when it came to mentoring the younger players, Sale gave them the very advice he struggled to take.

“I think the biggest thing he told me was, ‘Remember it’s just a game. You just gotta play and have fun with it. You gotta take it serious, because it is a job at the end of the day, but at the same time, this is the same game you’ve been playing since you were four years old in the backyard, tossing a wiffle ball around. You gotta sometimes look around and smell the roses, because you’re in and out of this game in 10 years, maybe more if you’re lucky,” Houck recalled. “It’s about taking every moment you can and cherishing it, and that’s not just baseball, that’s life in general.”

Over the years, evaluators have pointed out the resemblances between the two pitchers. Fans call Houck ‘the righty Chris Sale.’ Last year, Rob Friedman, the analyst known as Pitching Ninja, shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing a mirror image of Sale superimposed over Houck as both pitchers released their similar sliders. In April, Houck’s Maddux was the first Red Sox start of at least eight innings without a run or walk since Sale’s game against the Angels on Aug. 8, 2019.

But personality-wise, Houck and Sale couldn’t be more different. The former is quieter and more reserved – though during spring training, he told the Herald that Tigger was his spirit animal – and the latter is loud, passionate, and hot-tempered. In 2016, he famously took a pair of scissors to the White Sox’s throwback uniforms. A clip of him screaming in the dugout during the 2018 World Series became an oft-used gif on X (formerly Twitter) for when a team’s offense needs to start scoring runs.

“I loved it,” Houck said of the 2018 verbal barrage, which helped spark a Boston comeback in Game 4. “That’s his personality. I’ll say he’s a crazy-ass (expletive) when he turns it on. He’s crazy, but I think that’s what I love about him, because he’s a vocal-crazy, which I love. It’s awesome to see it, it’s awesome to watch him do it.”

One of Houck’s top Sale memories is along those lines, another time when he loudly demanded excellence from himself and those around him.

“Last year in Philly was one of my favorite moments of playing with him. He lost it on the mound, and like, slung two balls into the dugout, slammed the rosin bag,” he recalled. “After he did that, I remember (pitching coach Dave Bush) went out to talk to him. And then he slung like, 99, 99, 98, 99 mph and punched out the guy on four pitches, on like, all fastballs. I was just sitting in the dugout. I go, ‘That might’ve been the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Moments like that turn me back into a kid again,” he added.

Houck is only in his fourth full season in the Majors, but due to the rapid roster turnover in recent years, he’s now the longest-tenured Red Sox starting pitcher. Though loath to call himself a veteran, the 27-year-old hopes that one day, he’ll be in Sale’s shoes.

“I loved being around Sale and guys with a lot of (service) time, because I love just hearing the stories that they tell,” he said. “I hope to reach that point one day. I can tell stories about having him in the clubhouse, having (Nathan) Eovaldi in the clubhouse.”

Though he went from being a fan to being Sale’s teammate, Houck admitted that he’s never stopped being a fan. He’s thrilled to see the southpaw firing on all cylinders again, even if it’s in a different uniform.

“I’ve been watching, he’s doing his thing,” the Red Sox righty said with a smile. “As a fan of the game and as a fan of his growing up, I like to see him back out there healthy and doing his thing. Obviously, to have the privilege to play with him was amazing, and I hope to keep that friendship for a long time.

“Him and Eovaldi have impacted my life and this game, and (shown me) what it means to truly be a big leaguer, and so I hope to make them proud one day.”