Johnny Pesky
Encyclopedia
John Michael Pesky nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was a Major League Baseball
shortstop
, third baseman
, and manager
. During a 10-year career, he played in 1942 and from 1946-1954 for three different teams. He missed all of the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons while serving in World War II
.
Johnny Pesky's biography is Mr. Red Sox by Bill Nowlin, published by Rounder Books. Pesky has been associated with the Boston Red Sox
for 60 of his 72 years in baseball – from 1940 through June 3, 1952; 1961 through 1964; and continuously since 1969. Pesky also managed the Red Sox from 1963–1964, and in September 1980.
A left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, Pesky was a tough man for pitchers to strike out. He was the first AL player to score 6 runs in a 9 inning game. As a hitter, he specialized in getting on base, leading the American League in base hits three times - his first three seasons in the majors, in which he collected over 200 hits each year - and was among the top ten in on-base percentage
six times while batting
.307 in 1,270 games over ten seasons (1942; 1946–54). He was also an excellent bunter who led the league in sacrifice hit
s in .
He was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams
, Bobby Doerr
and Dom DiMaggio
. Their friendship was chronicled in David Halberstam
's book The Teammates.
In honor of Pesky, the right field foul pole at Fenway Park
, home of the Red Sox, is known as Pesky's Pole
, or the Pesky Pole. Former teammate and Sox broadcaster Mel Parnell
named the pole after Pesky. The story goes that Pesky won a game for Parnell in with a home run
down the short (302 feet/92m) right field line, just around the pole. Being that Pesky was a contact hitter who hit only 17 home runs—six of them at Fenway Park—in 4,745 at bat
s in the major leagues, it's quite possible that the home runs he hit there landed in close proximity to the pole. Research, however, shows that Pesky hit just one home run in a game pitched by Parnell, a two-run shot in the first inning of a game against Detroit played on June 11, 1950. The game was eventually won by the visiting Tigers in the 14th inning on a three-run shot by Tigers right fielder Vic Wertz and Parnell earned a no-decision that day.
career in the New York Yankees
organization with the 1955 Denver Bears of the AAA American Association
working under manager Ralph Houk
. From 1956 through 1960, Pesky was a manager in the Detroit farm system, reaching the AA level with the Birmingham Barons
and the Victoria Rosebuds
. He then rejoined the Red Sox in 1961 as manager of their AAA farm club, the Seattle Rainiers
of the Pacific Coast League
.
Pesky enjoyed two winning seasons in Seattle. At the close of the campaign, Boston owner Tom Yawkey
elevated manager Pinky Higgins
to the club's vacant post of general manager
and personally appointed Pesky as Higgins' replacement. Although the selection of Pesky was a popular choice, the Red Sox were a second division team and notorious as a "country club" — a group of unmotivated players who did what they wanted, when they wanted. In addition, Higgins and Pesky were not particularly close, and the general manager would be accused of undermining Yawkey's hand-picked skipper.
A major off-season trade added slugging first baseman
Dick Stuart
to Pesky's maiden roster, and while Stuart would lead the American League
with 118 runs batted in during '63, he was an atrocious fielder (nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove" and "Stonefingers") who would constantly defy Pesky's authority and make it difficult for him to control his players. Pesky's '63 club started quickly and briefly had pennant hopes, but lack of pitching soon doomed it to a second-division finish — 76-85, bad enough for seventh place. The 1964 Sox also languished deep in the nether regions of the AL, winning only 70 of the 160 games Pesky managed. With two games left in the season, he was replaced as manager by Billy Herman
, the club's third-base coach and a friend of Higgins'.
Pesky then left the Red Sox for four seasons, and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates
organization. From 1965 through 1967, he served as first-base coach for Pirate manager Harry Walker
. There was rich irony in the fact that it was Walker who hit the single that scored Enos Slaughter
with the winning run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 World Series
— the play
on which Pesky was accused (wrongly, in many eyes) of "holding the ball" on a relay from the outfield, allegedly hesitating as Slaughter raced home from first base. After Walker's firing in , Pesky managed the Bucs' AAA farm club, the Columbus Jets
of the International League
, to a second-place finish in 1968.
on the Sox' radio and television announcing crew. A few days after he took on the job, his old friend Ted Williams
, newly named manager of the Washington Senators
, asked Pesky to be his bench coach and top aide. Although tempted by Williams' offer, Pesky decided to remain in Boston. He worked with Ken Coleman
and Ned Martin
on Boston's WHDH Radio
and TV
from 1969–71, then strictly on television with Coleman on WBZ-TV
from 1972-74. He later served as analyst for selected games on radio with Joe Castiglione
calling play-by-play.
In , Pesky finally returned to uniform as a fulltime coach under manager Darrell Johnson
. As in Pittsburgh, he worked at first base and, in his first season back on the field, the Sox won the AL East title, swept three-time world champion Oakland
in the ALCS
, and battled the Cincinnati Reds
in a thrilling, seven-game World Series
. Pesky remained first-base coach under Johnson and his successor, Don Zimmer
, before moving to a bench and batting coach role for Zimmer in . The Red Sox had been contenders for most of the late 1970s, but in 1980 they stumbled to fourth place in the AL East, resulting in Zimmer's dismissal with five games left in the season. Pesky took command as interim pilot, and Boston lost four of five, to finish Pesky's career managing record at 147-179 (.451).
The following season, another old friend, Ralph Houk, became Boston's manager, and Pesky resumed his role as the club's batting and bench coach. He was especially valued by Sox slugger Jim Rice
, with whom Pesky worked tirelessly. Pesky missed the entire season with a serious food allergy that caused severe weight loss, but once the source of the illness was discovered, he was able to return for a final season as a fulltime coach in 1984. In 1990, nearing age 71, he spent almost 2½ months as interim manager of Boston's top farm club, the Pawtucket Red Sox
, when the team's skipper, Ed Nottle
, was fired in June. But since 1985 he has been a special instructor and assistant to the general manager, suiting up before games to work with players.
, a second time when the Baltimore Orioles
complained to MLB, and a third time in March , when Major League Baseball announced it would enforce limitations that only six coaches could be in uniform during a game. Pesky, as an instructor, was ineligible. On April 3, 2007, the North Shore Spirit
, a now-defunct team in the Independent Can-Am League
, in Lynn, Massachusetts
invited Pesky to sit in their dugout – and serve as an honorary coach – anytime he wanted.
Pesky attended the 2004 World Series
and, after the Game 4 triumph, was embraced by Boston players such as Tim Wakefield
and Curt Schilling
as a living representative of star Red Sox players of the past whose teams fell short of winning the Fall Classic. He played a poignant and prominent role in the ceremony in which the World Series Championship Rings were handed out (April 11, 2005). With the help of Carl Yastrzemski
, he raised the 2004 World Series Championship banner up the Fenway Park center field flagpole. Pesky also had the honor of raising the Red Sox' 2007 World Series
Championship banner on April 8, 2008.
On his 87th birthday, September 27, 2006, the Red Sox honored Pesky by officially naming the right-field foul pole "Pesky's Pole
." On September 23, , the Red Sox announced that they would retire the No. 6 Pesky wore as a player to mark his 89th birthday and his long years of service to the club. (Pesky wore No. 22 as the team's manager in the 1960s, and No. 35 as a coach from 1975–1980. Although he reclaimed No. 6 and wore it from 1981–1984, before its retirement the number also was assigned to players such as Bill Buckner
, Rick Cerone
and Tony Peña
.) Pesky's is the sixth number retired by the Red Sox; his number retired was the 1st to break the Red Sox's code to have a number retired: being in the Baseball Hall of Fame and having spent at least 10 years with the Red Sox (Pesky wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame). On September 28, 2008, his number was officially retired in a ceremony at Fenway Park.
A longtime resident of Boston's North Shore
, Pesky is a visible member of the community, making personal appearances for the Red Sox. For years, he has been a commercial spokesman on television and radio for a local supplier of doors and windows, JB Sash and Door Company. The commercials are deliberately and humorously corny, with Pesky and the company's owner calling themselves "the Window Boys."
On May 16, 2009 Pesky was given an honorary degree
during Salem State College's
199th commencement ceremony.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
, and manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
. During a 10-year career, he played in 1942 and from 1946-1954 for three different teams. He missed all of the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons while serving in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Johnny Pesky's biography is Mr. Red Sox by Bill Nowlin, published by Rounder Books. Pesky has been associated with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
for 60 of his 72 years in baseball – from 1940 through June 3, 1952; 1961 through 1964; and continuously since 1969. Pesky also managed the Red Sox from 1963–1964, and in September 1980.
A left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, Pesky was a tough man for pitchers to strike out. He was the first AL player to score 6 runs in a 9 inning game. As a hitter, he specialized in getting on base, leading the American League in base hits three times - his first three seasons in the majors, in which he collected over 200 hits each year - and was among the top ten in on-base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
six times while batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.307 in 1,270 games over ten seasons (1942; 1946–54). He was also an excellent bunter who led the league in sacrifice hit
Sacrifice hit
In baseball, a sacrifice bunt is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base. The batter is almost always sacrificed but sometimes reaches base due to an error or fielder's choice...
s in .
He was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
, Bobby Doerr
Bobby Doerr
Robert Pershing Doerr is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox . He led American League second basemen in double plays five times, tying a league record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times each, and...
and Dom DiMaggio
Dom DiMaggio
Dominic Paul DiMaggio , nicknamed "The Little Professor", was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox...
. Their friendship was chronicled in David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
's book The Teammates.
In honor of Pesky, the right field foul pole at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
, home of the Red Sox, is known as Pesky's Pole
Pesky's Pole
Pesky's Pole, commonly referred to as The Pesky Pole, is the nickname for the right field foul pole at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. It is named after Johnny Pesky, who played second base, shortstop and third base for the Red Sox from 1942 to 1952, except for 1943-45 during World War II....
, or the Pesky Pole. Former teammate and Sox broadcaster Mel Parnell
Mel Parnell
Melvin Lloyd Parnell is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher.Parnell spent his entire ten-year career with the Boston Red Sox , compiling a 123-75 record with 732 strikeouts, a 3.50 earned run average, 113 complete games, 20 shutouts, and 1752.2 innings pitched in 289 games...
named the pole after Pesky. The story goes that Pesky won a game for Parnell in with a home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
down the short (302 feet/92m) right field line, just around the pole. Being that Pesky was a contact hitter who hit only 17 home runs—six of them at Fenway Park—in 4,745 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s in the major leagues, it's quite possible that the home runs he hit there landed in close proximity to the pole. Research, however, shows that Pesky hit just one home run in a game pitched by Parnell, a two-run shot in the first inning of a game against Detroit played on June 11, 1950. The game was eventually won by the visiting Tigers in the 14th inning on a three-run shot by Tigers right fielder Vic Wertz and Parnell earned a no-decision that day.
Minor and major league manager
Pesky began his coachingCoach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
career in the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
organization with the 1955 Denver Bears of the AAA American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
working under manager Ralph Houk
Ralph Houk
Ralph George Houk , nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball...
. From 1956 through 1960, Pesky was a manager in the Detroit farm system, reaching the AA level with the Birmingham Barons
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club....
and the Victoria Rosebuds
Victoria Rosebuds
The Victoria Rosebuds were a minor league baseball team in the Double-A Texas League located in Victoria, Texas, between 1958 and May 27, 1961, when the club was transferred to Ardmore, Oklahoma, because of attendance woes. Club owner Tom O'Connor, Jr., a local rancher, suffered a heart attack in...
. He then rejoined the Red Sox in 1961 as manager of their AAA farm club, the Seattle Rainiers
Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...
of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
.
Pesky enjoyed two winning seasons in Seattle. At the close of the campaign, Boston owner Tom Yawkey
Tom Yawkey
Thomas Austin Yawkey, born Thomas Austin , was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933, and was the sole owner of the team for 44 seasons, longer than anyone else in baseball history.-Early...
elevated manager Pinky Higgins
Pinky Higgins
Michael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three teams and served as manager or general manager of the Boston Red Sox during the period of through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Playing...
to the club's vacant post of general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
and personally appointed Pesky as Higgins' replacement. Although the selection of Pesky was a popular choice, the Red Sox were a second division team and notorious as a "country club" — a group of unmotivated players who did what they wanted, when they wanted. In addition, Higgins and Pesky were not particularly close, and the general manager would be accused of undermining Yawkey's hand-picked skipper.
A major off-season trade added slugging first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
Dick Stuart
Dick Stuart
Richard Lee Stuart was a Major League Baseball first baseman from 1958 to 1966 and 1969. In 1967 and 1968, he played in Japan for the Taiyo Whales. Throughout his baseball career, Stuart was known as a fine hitter, but a subpar fielder, garnering the unique nickname of "Dr. Strangeglove" for his...
to Pesky's maiden roster, and while Stuart would lead the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
with 118 runs batted in during '63, he was an atrocious fielder (nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove" and "Stonefingers") who would constantly defy Pesky's authority and make it difficult for him to control his players. Pesky's '63 club started quickly and briefly had pennant hopes, but lack of pitching soon doomed it to a second-division finish — 76-85, bad enough for seventh place. The 1964 Sox also languished deep in the nether regions of the AL, winning only 70 of the 160 games Pesky managed. With two games left in the season, he was replaced as manager by Billy Herman
Billy Herman
William Jennings Bryan "Billy" Herman was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball during the 1930s and 1940s. He was known for his stellar defense and consistent batting...
, the club's third-base coach and a friend of Higgins'.
Pesky then left the Red Sox for four seasons, and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
organization. From 1965 through 1967, he served as first-base coach for Pirate manager Harry Walker
Harry Walker
Harry William Walker, known to baseball fans of the middle 20th century as "Harry the Hat" , was an American baseball player, manager and coach.-Early life and family:...
. There was rich irony in the fact that it was Walker who hit the single that scored Enos Slaughter
Enos Slaughter
Enos Bradsher Slaughter , nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 19-year baseball career, he played from 1938–1942 and 1946-1959 for four different teams, but is noted primarily for his time with the St...
with the winning run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 World Series
1946 World Series
-Game 1:Sunday, October 6, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, MissouriThe Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers.-Game 2:Monday, October 7, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St...
— the play
Slaughter's Mad Dash
The Mad Dash, or Slaughter's Mad Dash, refers to an event in the eighth inning of the seventh game of the 1946 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox.-Background:...
on which Pesky was accused (wrongly, in many eyes) of "holding the ball" on a relay from the outfield, allegedly hesitating as Slaughter raced home from first base. After Walker's firing in , Pesky managed the Bucs' AAA farm club, the Columbus Jets
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....
of the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, to a second-place finish in 1968.
Return to the Red Sox
After the season, Pesky returned to the Red Sox organization as a color commentatorColor commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
on the Sox' radio and television announcing crew. A few days after he took on the job, his old friend Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
, newly named manager of the Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
, asked Pesky to be his bench coach and top aide. Although tempted by Williams' offer, Pesky decided to remain in Boston. He worked with Ken Coleman
Ken Coleman
Kenneth R. Coleman was an American radio and television sportscaster for 38 years . He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts....
and Ned Martin
Ned Martin
Edwin Martin was an American sportscaster, known primarily as a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from to...
on Boston's WHDH Radio
WEEI
WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
and TV
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
from 1969–71, then strictly on television with Coleman on WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
from 1972-74. He later served as analyst for selected games on radio with Joe Castiglione
Joe Castiglione
Joseph John Castiglione is an American radio announcer for the Boston Red Sox baseball team, an author and lecturer.-Early life and career:...
calling play-by-play.
In , Pesky finally returned to uniform as a fulltime coach under manager Darrell Johnson
Darrell Johnson
Darrell Dean Johnson was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout.-Playing career:...
. As in Pittsburgh, he worked at first base and, in his first season back on the field, the Sox won the AL East title, swept three-time world champion Oakland
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
in the ALCS
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...
, and battled the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
in a thrilling, seven-game World Series
1975 World Series
The 1975 World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds . It has been ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest World Series ever played...
. Pesky remained first-base coach under Johnson and his successor, Don Zimmer
Don Zimmer
Donald William "Popeye" Zimmer is a former infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball, currently serving as a senior advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization...
, before moving to a bench and batting coach role for Zimmer in . The Red Sox had been contenders for most of the late 1970s, but in 1980 they stumbled to fourth place in the AL East, resulting in Zimmer's dismissal with five games left in the season. Pesky took command as interim pilot, and Boston lost four of five, to finish Pesky's career managing record at 147-179 (.451).
The following season, another old friend, Ralph Houk, became Boston's manager, and Pesky resumed his role as the club's batting and bench coach. He was especially valued by Sox slugger Jim Rice
Jim Rice
James Edward "Jim" Rice , nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder.Jim Rice played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox from 1974 to 1989...
, with whom Pesky worked tirelessly. Pesky missed the entire season with a serious food allergy that caused severe weight loss, but once the source of the illness was discovered, he was able to return for a final season as a fulltime coach in 1984. In 1990, nearing age 71, he spent almost 2½ months as interim manager of Boston's top farm club, the Pawtucket Red Sox
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox are the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and belong to the International League...
, when the team's skipper, Ed Nottle
Ed Nottle
Edward William Nottle , nicknamed "Singing Ed" because of his avocation as a singer, is a former minor league baseball relief pitcher and manager....
, was fired in June. But since 1985 he has been a special instructor and assistant to the general manager, suiting up before games to work with players.
1991-present
Intermittently, Pesky has since been allowed to sit on the Red Sox bench during games, but three times has been prevented from the task — once by his own general manager, Dan DuquetteDan Duquette
Daniel F. Duquette is the Executive Vice-President of Baseball Operations for the Baltimore Orioles. He was the General Manager of the Montreal Expos from September through January and for the Boston Red Sox from through March...
, a second time when the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
complained to MLB, and a third time in March , when Major League Baseball announced it would enforce limitations that only six coaches could be in uniform during a game. Pesky, as an instructor, was ineligible. On April 3, 2007, the North Shore Spirit
North Shore Spirit
The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball , an independent league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or with the Minor League Baseball...
, a now-defunct team in the Independent Can-Am League
Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional, independent baseball league located in the Northeastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is...
, in Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
invited Pesky to sit in their dugout – and serve as an honorary coach – anytime he wanted.
Pesky attended the 2004 World Series
2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
and, after the Game 4 triumph, was embraced by Boston players such as Tim Wakefield
Tim Wakefield
Timothy Stephen Wakefield is an American professional baseball pitcher. Wakefield began pitching with the Red Sox in 1995, making him the longest-serving player currently on the team. Wakefield is also the oldest current active player in the majors, and one of two active knuckleballers, the other...
and Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
as a living representative of star Red Sox players of the past whose teams fell short of winning the Fall Classic. He played a poignant and prominent role in the ceremony in which the World Series Championship Rings were handed out (April 11, 2005). With the help of Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
, he raised the 2004 World Series Championship banner up the Fenway Park center field flagpole. Pesky also had the honor of raising the Red Sox' 2007 World Series
2007 World Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at Fenway Park in Boston, MassachusettsThe Red Sox cruised to a blowout win in Game 1 behind ALCS MVP Josh Beckett, who struck out nine batters, including the first four he faced, en route to his fourth win of the 2007 postseason...
Championship banner on April 8, 2008.
On his 87th birthday, September 27, 2006, the Red Sox honored Pesky by officially naming the right-field foul pole "Pesky's Pole
Pesky's Pole
Pesky's Pole, commonly referred to as The Pesky Pole, is the nickname for the right field foul pole at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. It is named after Johnny Pesky, who played second base, shortstop and third base for the Red Sox from 1942 to 1952, except for 1943-45 during World War II....
." On September 23, , the Red Sox announced that they would retire the No. 6 Pesky wore as a player to mark his 89th birthday and his long years of service to the club. (Pesky wore No. 22 as the team's manager in the 1960s, and No. 35 as a coach from 1975–1980. Although he reclaimed No. 6 and wore it from 1981–1984, before its retirement the number also was assigned to players such as Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner
William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...
, Rick Cerone
Rick Cerone
Richard Aldo Cerone from Seton Hall University is a former Major League Baseball player from 1975 to 1992 for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Montreal Expos...
and Tony Peña
Tony Peña
Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla is a former professional baseball player, manager and current coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Astros. Peña was the manager of the Kansas City Royals between 2002 and 2005. He...
.) Pesky's is the sixth number retired by the Red Sox; his number retired was the 1st to break the Red Sox's code to have a number retired: being in the Baseball Hall of Fame and having spent at least 10 years with the Red Sox (Pesky wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame). On September 28, 2008, his number was officially retired in a ceremony at Fenway Park.
A longtime resident of Boston's North Shore
North Shore (Massachusetts)
The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire. The region is made up both of a rocky coastline, dotted with marshes and wetlands, as well as several beaches and natural harbors. The North Shore is an important...
, Pesky is a visible member of the community, making personal appearances for the Red Sox. For years, he has been a commercial spokesman on television and radio for a local supplier of doors and windows, JB Sash and Door Company. The commercials are deliberately and humorously corny, with Pesky and the company's owner calling themselves "the Window Boys."
On May 16, 2009 Pesky was given an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
during Salem State College's
Salem State College
Salem State University is a four-year public institution of higher learning located in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem State University, established in 1854 as Salem Normal School, is located approximately fifteen miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. Salem State enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and...
199th commencement ceremony.