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Johnny Pesky
John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "the Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). 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, 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. 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 and the four were later honored with The Teammates statue outside Fenway Park.
Pesky was born February 27, 1919, in Portland, Oregon, the son of Croat immigrants Jakov and Marija (Bajama) Paveskovich. (Major League Baseball has his date of birth as September 27, 1919, an adjustment made by Pesky in 1939 to meet baseball minimum scouting age for tryouts.)
Pesky played for Lincoln High School, and attended a baseball school run by former major league pitcher Carl Mays. He spent several years playing for local amateur teams, such as the Portland Babes, Bend Elks and Silverton Red Sox. The third of these teams was associated with the Silver Falls Timber Company, which was owned by Tom Yawkey, who also owned the major league Red Sox. A skilled ice hockey player, he once worked out with the Boston Bruins.
His name was shortened to "Pesky" early in his playing career. According to one story, Portland sportswriters would abbreviate his name to "Pesky" because it fit better in a box score. Another version has it that an Oregonian sports editor asked about a certain pesky hitter he'd watched play, seemingly unaware of the similarity to the player's actual surname. Whatever the case, the young ballplayer changed his name legally from Paveskovich to Pesky in 1947.
Pesky was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox before the 1940 season and spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues. In 1940, he played for the Rocky Mount Red Sox of the Piedmont League, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famer Heinie Manush, who was the team's player-manager. After hitting .325 with Rocky Mount, he moved up to the double-A Louisville Colonels, where he also batted .325. The next year, he was in the major leagues.
During his rookie year in 1942, Pesky led the AL in hits with 205—at the time a Red Sox record for a rookie—as well as sacrifice hits with 22. He was second only to teammate Ted Williams in average at .331, and finished third in Most Valuable Player voting behind MVP Joe Gordon and Williams.
After missing three seasons due to World War II, Pesky came back in 1946, leading the league in hits once again, batting .335, third in the league, and finishing fourth in the MVP voting while also making his first and only All-Star team. His 53 hits in August set a team record for hits in a month, a record later tied by Dom DiMaggio. In 1947, Pesky batted .324 while leading the league in hits for the third consecutive year with 207. It was also Pesky's third consecutive year having 200 or more hits each season from the start of his career which matched that of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Lloyd Waner occurring during the 1927–29 seasons.
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Johnny Pesky
John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "the Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). 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, 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. 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 and the four were later honored with The Teammates statue outside Fenway Park.
Pesky was born February 27, 1919, in Portland, Oregon, the son of Croat immigrants Jakov and Marija (Bajama) Paveskovich. (Major League Baseball has his date of birth as September 27, 1919, an adjustment made by Pesky in 1939 to meet baseball minimum scouting age for tryouts.)
Pesky played for Lincoln High School, and attended a baseball school run by former major league pitcher Carl Mays. He spent several years playing for local amateur teams, such as the Portland Babes, Bend Elks and Silverton Red Sox. The third of these teams was associated with the Silver Falls Timber Company, which was owned by Tom Yawkey, who also owned the major league Red Sox. A skilled ice hockey player, he once worked out with the Boston Bruins.
His name was shortened to "Pesky" early in his playing career. According to one story, Portland sportswriters would abbreviate his name to "Pesky" because it fit better in a box score. Another version has it that an Oregonian sports editor asked about a certain pesky hitter he'd watched play, seemingly unaware of the similarity to the player's actual surname. Whatever the case, the young ballplayer changed his name legally from Paveskovich to Pesky in 1947.
Pesky was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox before the 1940 season and spent the next two seasons in the minor leagues. In 1940, he played for the Rocky Mount Red Sox of the Piedmont League, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famer Heinie Manush, who was the team's player-manager. After hitting .325 with Rocky Mount, he moved up to the double-A Louisville Colonels, where he also batted .325. The next year, he was in the major leagues.
During his rookie year in 1942, Pesky led the AL in hits with 205—at the time a Red Sox record for a rookie—as well as sacrifice hits with 22. He was second only to teammate Ted Williams in average at .331, and finished third in Most Valuable Player voting behind MVP Joe Gordon and Williams.
After missing three seasons due to World War II, Pesky came back in 1946, leading the league in hits once again, batting .335, third in the league, and finishing fourth in the MVP voting while also making his first and only All-Star team. His 53 hits in August set a team record for hits in a month, a record later tied by Dom DiMaggio. In 1947, Pesky batted .324 while leading the league in hits for the third consecutive year with 207. It was also Pesky's third consecutive year having 200 or more hits each season from the start of his career which matched that of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Lloyd Waner occurring during the 1927–29 seasons.
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