New England Loses An Icon As Mr. Red Sox Johnny Pesky Passes Away At 92

There will never be another guy that is so deeply attached to the Boston Red Sox as Johnny Pesky, who passed away today at the age of 92.

He played in MLB for 10 years, including seven-plus in Boston. His solid career was interrupted for three years when he joined the Navy during World War II.

For a life that spanned an absurd 70 years in baseball, at one point or another he possessed nearly every job you could have with one team: player, manager, coach, assistant GM, broadcaster, hitting instructor at Spring Training and a team ambassador. Pesky was born in Oregon but he'll always be remembered as a Red Sox legend and adopted son of New England.

He was a career .307 hitter and Fenway Park's right field foul pole is known as "Pesky's Pole," to honor him. He was the first member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995 and his No. 6 was retired by the team and hangs on the right field facade with the other legends of the past. Perhaps best known for his memorable friendship with Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio-the subject of David Halberstam's wonderful book entitled "Teammates," Pesky was a constant presence even until his last days.

One of the coolest parts about the Red Sox breaking their 86-year World Series title drought in 2004 is that Pesky got to experience it first-hand since he was a special assignment instructor with the team. Nobody loved the Red Sox more than him and he stayed in this area for the rest of his life (living in Swampscott, MA; passing away in Danvers, MA), long after he retired from MLB.

More than anything, I will always remember Pesky as a living connection to the rich history of the Red Sox that I was never able to witness with my own eyes. It helped that he looked like one of my grandfathers so I'm naturally drawn to him but if you are my age, it is hard not to feel some special bond to Pesky by the way he loved life and enjoyed being at the ballpark. He mentored young players like Nomar Garciaparra and was dear friends with veterans like David Ortiz and Tim Wakefield. Above all, Pesky was a treasure and we have to consider ourselves very lucky that he spent so much time with our favorite baseball team.

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