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Adored by generation of Red Sox fans, icon Johnny Pesky was so
much a part of Boston baseball that the right-field foul pole at Fenway was
named for him. His baseball career,
lasting over 60 years, consisted of playing, managing and broadcasting. Pesky passed away at 92, just a week after his
final visit to Fenway, on August 5th.
''I feel like part of
the Red Sox tradition just died because when I think of Johnny I think of him
hitting fungos at spring training. We will all miss him so much,'' ex-pitcher
Pedro Martinez said in comments provided by the Red Sox. ''He was such a
representative of everything that happened in Boston. It's hard to think of the
success, defeat, and all we went through without Johnny. You couldn't do
anything without Johnny Pesky.''
On his
87th birthday, Sept. 27, 2006, a plaque was unveiled at the base of the foul
pole just 302 feet from home plate, designating it ''Pesky's Pole.'' ''He was always there through the good and
bad times with the same smile and passion for his team. `Hello my honeysuckle, hello
my honey bee, my ever lovin' Jason just got three,' Johnny used to say, wishing
me three hits that night.'' Said Jason
Varitek. Pesky died at the Kaplan Family
Hospice House in Danvers, according to Solimine, Landergan and Richardson
funeral home in Lynn. The funeral home did not announce a cause of death. ''I've had a good life with the ballclub,''
Pesky told the AP in 2004. ''I just try to help out. I understand the game,
I've been around the ballpark my whole life.''
Pesky played 10 years in the majors, the first seven-plus with Boston.
His No. 6 was retired in 2008.
Pesky will be greatly missed by the Boston Red Sox community.
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