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| Photo from Jere |
Once again, if the Red Sox feel you’re important enough to retire your number, you’re important enough to be on this list. In this case, of course, number six has been retired for Red Sox mainstay Johnny Pesky.
I said at the time I was against retiring his number. In the first place, the Red Sox have their own criteria for retirement of numbers. Pesky didn’t meet them. But, they felt they would break the rules in this case. They had already bent the rules when they retired Fisk’s number, so I guess breaking them outright wasn’t all that hard. But, beyond that, I questioned whether Pesky was deserving of the honor. Had Pesky so excelled in that number that I couldn’t picture anyone else wearing it? That certainly wasn’t the case. As a matter of fact, when I think of number 6 on the Red Sox, I picture Bill Bucker walking off the field after game six ended. Not Pesky. I said I would have preferred they give Pesky a statue instead of a number retirement. (Which, they ended up doing when Pesky was honored as one of the ‘Teammates.”)
So, I always agreed that Pesky deserved some sort of honor. He’s been a member of the Sox in some capacity seemingly forever. Sixty Years. That’s incredible. He’s been an all-star player. He’s been an all-star coach. He managed the Sox to 147 wins. He broadcast the games on TV and radio. He did it all. He even had a foul pole named after him. That’s a pretty unique resume. Clearly someone with such a dedication to an organization deserves to be honored.
I was lucky enough to meet Pesky once. It was the Father’s Day catch they had a few years back. I was able to walk along the Fenway warning track, and have a game of catch on the outfield grass. Pesky was there signing autographs and taking pictures on the warning track in front of the Red Sox dugout. It was a pretty cool opportunity. He did a great job dealing with the steady stream of fans that wanted some of his time. He really seems to enjoy his role as ambassador, or elder statesman for the Red Sox.
6 is for number 6, Johnny Pesky.
Still can't believe my gf cut some heads out of that shot!
ReplyDeleteI also met Pesky. He was signing on Yawkey Way. I had my picture taken with him (which I may have used in the Scav. Hunt two years ago). So I'm thanking him for signing or whatever, and he says, "ask your grandfather about me." I didn't have the heart to tell him that not only are all my grandparents dead, but that I was nearly 30 years old and knew all about him. I think he thought I was 12 or something.
I've had the pleasure of running into Johnny a few times. He's always charming and seems to be genuinely happy to be talking to the fans. Any honors the Sox want to bestow upon him, I support.
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