American baseball player, coach, and manager (1919-2012)
This article is about an American baseball player, coach and manager. For the surname of the titular character and her family, see The Buzz on Maggie.
Baseball player
Johnny Pesky
Pesky in 2006
Shortstop / Third baseman / Manager
Born:(1919-02-27)February 27, 1919 Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Died: August 13, 2012(2012-08-13) (aged 93) Danvers, Massachusetts, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 14, 1942, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 24, 1954, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average
.307
Home runs
17
Runs batted in
404
Managerial record
147–179
Winning %
.451
Teams
As player
Boston Red Sox (1942, 1946–1952)
Detroit Tigers (1952–1954)
Washington Senators (1954)
As manager
Boston Red Sox (1963–1964, 1980)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (1946)
Boston Red Sox No. 6 retired
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "the Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox",[1] was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a ten-year major league playing career, appearing in 1,270 games played in 1942 and from 1946 to 1954 for three teams. He missed the 1943–45 seasons while serving in World War II. Pesky was associated with the Boston Red Sox for 61 of his 73 years in baseball—from 1940 through June 3, 1952, 1961 through 1964, and from 1969 until his death. Pesky also managed the Red Sox from 1963 to 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 American League (AL) player to score 6 runs in a 9 inning game. As a hitter, he specialized in getting on base, leading the AL in base hits three times—his first three seasons in the majors,[2] 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 4,745 at bats as a major leaguer.[2] He was also an excellent bunter who led the league in sacrifice hits in 1942. He was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio, as chronicled in The Teammates by David Halberstam.
^"The Bleacher Report". The Bleacher Report. August 14, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
^ ab"Johnny Pesky Statistics and History –". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "the Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional...
ownership relaxed the requirements further with the retirement of JohnnyPesky's number 6. Pesky has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but in light of...
Culberson was cut off by shortstop JohnnyPesky, who relayed the ball to the plate just a hair too late. Some say Pesky hesitated or "held the ball" before...
left due to illness In 1970, announcers Ken Coleman, Ned Martin, and JohnnyPesky refused to cross the picket line of WHDH-TV's electrical workers. During...
of that year, he had 53 base hits, tying a club record with teammate JohnnyPesky. DiMaggio again led the league in runs (113) in 1951, when he had a 27-game...
team in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, along with his Red Sox teammate JohnnyPesky in pre-flight training, after eight weeks in Amherst, Massachusetts,...
Bobby Doerr: 1967–1969 Don Lenhardt: 1970–1973 Eddie Popowski: 1974 JohnnyPesky: 1975–1979 Tommy Harper: 1980–1984 Joe Morgan: 1985 Walt Hriniak: 1986–1987...
walloped a hit over JohnnyPesky's head into left-center field. As Leon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his "mad dash". Pesky caught Culberson's...
that had faced the Cardinals in 1946: Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio and JohnnyPesky (Ted Williams had died two years earlier). Despite having a torn tendon...
year in Major League Baseball. After leading the American League in 1942, Pesky missed the next three full seasons serving in World War II. As 1942 was...
scoring the winning run after a delayed relay throw by the Red Sox' JohnnyPesky. The hit was ruled a double, though most observers felt it should have...
of a baseball school in Oregon; among his most notable attendees was JohnnyPesky. Mays also worked as a scout for the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee / Atlanta...
1993) 1919 – Chick Halbert, American basketball player (d. 2013) 1919 – JohnnyPesky, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012) 1920 – Reg Simpson, English...
later that month. The poem replaced Flynn and Blake with Bobby Doerr and JohnnyPesky, the batters who preceded Williams in the 1946 Red Sox lineup. In 2000...
Ed Nottle 1990 62 84 .425 4th IL East −27.5 Ed Nottle (through 6/26) JohnnyPesky (from 6/27) 1991 79 64 .552 1st IL East +3.5 Butch Hobson 1992 71 72...
Park during which JohnnyPesky hit the deciding home run near the right field foul pole, Parnell named it the "Pesky Pole" or Pesky's Pole. Research, however...
two official seats from Fenway by JohnnyPesky, one bearing Garciaparra's own number 5, and the other bearing Pesky's number 6. Garciaparra threw out the...
York Yankees. Manager Don Zimmer was fired with five games left, and JohnnyPesky finished the season as manager. November 16, 1979: Tony Pérez was signed...
September, the team officially retired uniform number 6 in honor of JohnnyPesky. May 22, 2008: Julián Tavárez was released by the Red Sox. July 12, 2008:...
beginning in 1979, when John fared better in their matchups. Along with JohnnyPesky, Yastrzemski raised the 2004 World Series championship banner over Fenway...
Harris". Associated Press. September 28, 1960. Retrieved 3 August 2011. "JohnnyPesky New Boston Red Sox Manager". Associated Press. October 8, 1962. Retrieved...
rotation to the bullpen. At Columbus, Ellis credited his work with manager JohnnyPesky and pitching coach Harvey Haddix for improving his performance. Ellis...
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