Sox to retire Pesky's number Friday
The Red Sox will retire Johnny Pesky's number on Friday night, putting his No. 6 on the upper deck facade alongside those of teammates Ted Williams (9) and Bobby Doerr (1).
 (Jim Davis/Globe Staff Photo) |
Pesky turns 89 on Saturday and still has a locker at Fenway Park. His number will be the sixth retired by Boston.
"I think Johnny Pesky's case cries out for this," team president Larry Lucchino said before Tuesday night's game against Cleveland. "It's an achievement we will be doing with great pride, admiration and gratitude."
Lucchino acknowledged the retirement of Pesky's number was an exception to the longstanding criteria for such honor, which in the past has been bestowed upon players who had played at least 10 years with the Red Sox, finished their careers here, and were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Unlike Williams, Doerr, Carl Yastrzemski (No. 8), and Carlton Fisk (No. 27), Pesky is not in the Hall of Fame.
`` We inherited a set a rules that applied to this question of retiring numbers and we have looked at that and considered that to be useful but as guidelines rather than firm rules,'' said Lucchino, who indicated the retirement will take place before Friday night's game against the Yankees. ``I think that Johnny Pesky's career cries out as exceptional and its length of term and the versatility of his contributions -- on the field, off the field, in the dugout, etc. -- are such that we considered Johnny a worthy exception to the rules that were set down before.''
Said Pesky: ``When heard about it last night, I was told that the bosses wanted to see me and I thought I'd done something [wrong]. When I went to see what they wanted, and they told me, of course, I was flabbergasted.
Said Red Sox manager Terry Francona: "As far as the honor, it's terrific," manager Terry Francona said. "He's very special to a lot of people here and I'm sure it will mean a lot to him. Because of that, it'll be a pretty neat day. I can tell ya, there'll be a lot of stories.''
Pesky has been in some way connected to the Red Sox for 57 of his 69 years in baseball. Red Sox lore is incomplete without him. The right-field foul pole forever will be known as "Pesky's Pole" -- standing 302 feet from home plate, it was the only place, teammates used to joke, Pesky could hit a home run. He hit 17 in his career (only six in Fenway Park).
Pesky played for the Red Sox in 1942, then again from 1946 until he was traded to the Tigers during the 1952 season. The shortstop missed the 1943-45 seasons because of World War II, during which he was enlisted in the Navy. Pesky batted .331 as a rookie in '42, and finished with a .307 average in a career that ended in 1954.
Pesky managed the Red Sox in 1963-64, and later served in a number of other roles, including as a coach and a broadcaster. He remains a consistent presence at Fenway as an unofficial ambassador. Several books have been written about Pesky, including David Halberstam's "The Teammates".
With Pesky's No. 6 headed for the right-field facade, there will be much speculation regarding the next players to be honored if and when a new retired-number policy is implemented. Among possible candidates:
Jim Rice (No. 14)
Roger Clemens (No. 21)
Luis Tiant (No. 23)
Dwight Evans (No. 24)
Tony Conigliaro (No. 25)
Wade Boggs (No. 26)
Let us know in the comments section which former Sox you believe should be honored with a retired number.
Chad Finn and Adam Kilgore of the Globe Staff, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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This is long overdue, and it's about time the Sox did the right thing here. I can't think of anyone in the team's history who has been more loyal to the Red Sox and the fans than Mr. Pesky.
WADE BOGGS. He could hit with the best of em' and take down a rack on a cross country flight, doesn't get much more AMERICAN than that
It's a about time...
Pedro Martinez (45)
Manny Ramirez (24)
Great players who had the best years of their careers with the Sox deserve to be honored
Where does it end? I saw Tony C, Wakefield, Nomar etc.. Who's next Bob Stanley?? Moe Vaughn?? Who really belongs up there? We have the red sox hall of fame and I think that's a 'local honor' that shows appreciation on the emotional level. No one would argue any of those names mentioned above. New England fell in love with Dwight Evans and he is no doubt the best to partol that cavernous right field and was a beacon of consistency but he isn't a hall of famer. Rice, same thing, he has superlatives in Red Sox history but not HOF. Yaz, Ted, Doerr, Cronin, and Fisk have a rock solid requisite that no one can argue or deny. There is no blurr on 'should they be up there or not. Clemens, Ramirez, Shilling, Pedro, Boggs are arguable enough as it is. Keep the requisite.
I think it's great that the current Red Sox administration is revising its policy for retiring players' numbers, and Johnny Pesky's is long overdue.
As for other players whose numbers should be retired, I DEFINITELY believe that Jim Rice's, Luis Tiant's and Dwight Evans' shold hang in right field along with Yaz, Ted Wiliams, Bobby Doerr and Carlton Fisk. However, I'm still not sure about Tony C, and given all that has come out from the Mitchell Report, I honestly believe that it would not be in the Red Sox best interest to retire Roger Clemens number, although the verdict is still very much out in that department. In any event, I'm gald to see that one of the most beloved players in Red Sox history is finally going to have a day in his honor. Happy Birthday, Johnny!
It's about bleeping time! Can't think of anyone more deserving. Hope it's true!
The pesky pole is the right field pole - not the left field pole...
Definitely Rice if he is elected to the Hall.
Never for Clemens. The team should give 21 to anyone who wants it.
At some point in the future we will see 24 but when it is there, it'll be Manny's.
Clemens will never get his number retired by the Sox. Rice probably will once he gets into the Hall of Fame.
24 should definittly be done for Dwight Evans - the consumate team player - unlike the other guy who wore #24
If you are going to add Clemens to the mix than I think Boggs and Pedro Martinez would have to go up there as well. However, I think the only people who really should be up there who aren't are Jim Rice and Dwight Evans. Pesky is a classy and well deserved move.
I love Johnny dearly, but I think it's a bad idea to loosen the standards for number retirement, as it creates too much debate and contention. Besides, he already has the Pole!
"The left field foul pole " is Pesky's Pole?????? Somebody please edit this story.
Im indifferent either way, but I find interesting that no one has taken #5 since NG was traded. Could it be that the sox arent even allowing it to be available?
Dewey deserves it. I was pissed when they gave Manny his number 8 years ago.
He is #4 on the all time Red Sox RBI and HR lists, #3 on doubles and extra base hits and he won 8 gold gloves. He's the man.
Pesky Pole in Left Field ????
Evans and Rice should be considered as played their hearts out for the SOX...Clemens only played and went for the $$
What about Wade Boggs (No. 26), and someday Tim Wakefield (No. 49).
Jim Rice should be next. The fact that he's not in the HOF is an insult and the Sox should honor the man who was a dominating offensive player for a decade.
NO QUESTION,JIM RICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHAME ON THE HALL OF FAME FOR NOT HAVING INDUCTED THIS GREAT PLAYER.
Dwight Evans, #24
rice, evans, and tony c. for sure.
Jim Rice and Dwight Evans, definitely. Roger Clemens - NEVER
I think I'm going to be sick. This is a sick joke, right? I would be all for Rice and Evans being retired, but Pesky? The man played a total of eight seasons here. Just because he hung around because he had no other place to go doesn't merit his number being retired.
Rice and Conigliaro definitely
Tiant and Evans yes
Clemens no way
Who deserves it more than Johnny Pesky? No one, my friend. I'm looking forward to seeing the 6 in right field the next time I'm at the park.
Tony C.
I always envisioned 24 and 45 making their way up in right field, but I never figured they would bend their stiff retirement rules for ole #6. Congrats to Old Man Red Sox, our own Johnny Pesky!
Maybe this opens the way down the line for Wakefield's 49 to take its proper place up in right field? And maybe someday we'll see a join retirement for 24 (Evans and Ramirez) like the Yanks did for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra.
I would have Tiant next and then eventually Rice. No one would show up for Clemens, not sure if Tony C's situation qualifies. Dewey could go either way.
Wade Boggs for sure! It's not his fault that management ran him out of town so Scott Cooper could get a shot. Also #24 should be retired.....for Manny and Evans. Combined they meet the criteria.
Papi. He removed the curse.
As long as this ownership is in place, I doubt Manny's number will be retired. He quit on the team in 2006, sandbagged many "tender hamstrings", and virtually withheld services this year. He is a great hitter, but let Cleveland retire his number.
Dom DiMaggio - a great player and better person. Had great numbers and missed three years of his prime to serve in the Coast Guard. Played his entire career with the Sox. Like Pesky, meets all of the guidelines except being in the Hall of Fame.
No one has changed the face of this team more than Pedro...He deserves his number up there more than anyone else listed. I would give you Boggs and Evans. Beyond that I am at a loss for Mo Vaughn, NOMAR, Tony C. Great for Pesky! I am glad the Sox are doing this. Pedro should be next! Roger NEVER!!!!!
Well, let's see who should be up there:
Wade Boggs (No. 26) comes to mind. Granted he went to the Yankees after Boston and he did not leave on good teams, but his Hall of Fame career was made in Boston. He was just better than average after he left.
Fred Lynn (No. 19 I believe) is another. If he never left Boston, he was headed to the Hall. His numbers are staggering with the Red Sox.
Terry Francona ( No. 47) as a manager. He ended the curse.
David Ortiz (No. 34) has to be up there if Rice is up there. Rice DHed a lot during his career too.
Odd ball one:
Jerry Remy (No. 2) for what he has done in the booth. Uecker is in the Hall as a broadcaster and Jerry Remy has become Mr. Red Sox since he joined the broadcasting team.
Pesky deserves it hands down. But we can't put anyone up there that was "good." Those guys that are up there now are all hall of famers that had LONG careers with the redsox.....let's leave it at that.
Its great that he's being honored (again) by the Sox and its ownership. Pesky is one of the most enduring and beloved of the former Red Sox players.
BTW - Pesky's Pole is in Right Field. Fisk's Pole is in Left.
It's about time.
Rice,and Tiant should be up there. #24 should be up there for Dewey not Manny. Manny didn't give 2 sh*ts about this franchise. He quite on the team, yes he had some incredible years here but why reward someone with something like that when they quit on the team.
Never #21 for Clemens
Jim Ed, Dewey and Luis. AND ... Dominic DiMaggio.
I just cannot support Clemens. He certainly is worthy for his pitching while with the Red Sox, but his childish conduct off the field, the fact that he has been very vindictive toward the Red Sox since his dearture and his connection to PEDs ... Not someone I care to hold up as a shining example of this franchise. I'd sooner retire Rico Petrocelli's No. 6 or George Scott's No. 5 than Roger's No. 21.
In fact, No. 21 should go back into circulation.
I'm not going to post the argument for DiMaggio, Rice, Evans and Tiant. Each holds a unique place in Red Sox lore. Our beloved franchise is lesser without their character and skills.
Dom and Johnny should be alive to see their numbers retired and up there next to Ted's and Bobby's. They should all be together again.
Tom's post on 9/23 at 1:41 pm says it best for me. Bad idea.
I was in Ft. Myers a few years ago for spring training, and was fortunate enough to watch one of the autograph sessions. Johnny was the first out and the last to leave, even at his advanced age in the Florida sun. Pesky certainly deserves it. Congratulations to a true class act.
Rice and Evans should join him. Boggs and Clemens can shove it. Some of the others interest me... Pedro needs to be there in my opinion. He was simply outstanding. Was Schilling here long enough? When he was here, he was great, but is five years under contract (four actually performing) enough? Tough questions. Tony C, Wakefield, El Tiante... who knows?
Clemens, Vaughn, and Boggs will never get their numbers retired. It's the way they left.
The only way Ramirez makes it, is if Henry, Lucchino, Werner, and Epstein are looong gone.
The only one mentioned so far that could make it, in my mind, is Dwight Evans.
This is most certainly long overdue. Talk about someone who has been loyal to the organization for many decades, a true gentleman and a professional. He has given his whole life to the Red Sox, and he deserves this.
I don't think anyone else, except Rice deserves to have their number retired. Definitely not Manny, because he was such a jerk and pain in the a**, not Boggs, because he's a traitor and embraced being a yankee, riding that bleeping horse around the dump that ruth built, and most certainly not Clemens, well for obvious reasons.
We will see about the current crop of Red Sox, and who deserves to get in years down the line. Maybe Ortiz, and some others, but they still have a lot of work to do.
If 24 is ever retired there is only one player that will come to mind and with no disrespect, it will not be Dwight Evans!!!!
Semantics, I know, but really, it's called, "The Pesky Pole." Think about why.
I do believe that it should be for HOFers.
I agree with Tom. Johnny has Pesky's Pole. As beloved as he is, I don't think the honor of having his number retired is merited. Once the rules are relaxed for adding favorites, the honor of having a number retired is lessened. Johnny will always be a fan and player favorite and I'll bet he would be the first to admit he doesn't deserve to have his number retired. Let's not make it a popularity contest. Although I must say I do disagree with the requirement that a player end his career with the Sox to deserve to have his number retired. That's silly. Imagine if the Bruins had that rule - just ask Ray Bourque or Bobby Orr. Again, it should NOT be a popularity contest.
It will be a sad day when we won't see him at spring training. He is beloved by the Boston fans like Orr, Cousy, and Bird. More than Ted Williams perhaps. He definitely deserves thsi trubute. God love him
I think that the Sox have been overly restrictive in limiting the retired numbers. Pesky's (and it was Rico Petrocelli's number, as well) number is long overdue given what he has done for the club. As far as the others go, it is unrealistic to limit the numbers to HOF members (too hard to get in) or even those who stayed with the club for their entire careers. It doesn't happen anymore with free agency. I'd like to see all of the numbers mentioned up there, including Boggs's.
Tony Conigliaro's number 25 should be retired. He was the youngest to hit 100 home runs in a injury shorten career. I saw Tony hit his 1st home run in Fenway Park on opening day 1963. Yes I was a Red Sox Fan before it was cool to be one. I can tell you that over the years it was difficult to see anybody wearing that number including Mike Lowell. Please retire #25 and pay an honor to Tony C. Thank you
They should place the retired #6 in a special place, on top of pole bearing namesake.
What about El Guapo?
Rice. Hands down. Should be a hall a famer & was the heart & sole of that team from 78 through 86.
This is great...I was hoping they would do this for a long time, especially so he will be around to see this! What a great honor for one of the nicest men around. He is such a treasure for Sox fans...always a smile and an autograph for anyone.
As for other retired numbers....Rice if he gets into the HOF, Boggs-maybe, Evans-nope, no to Tony C as well. Pedro will definitely have his number retired when the time comes and on this current team, you can foresee Papi's number being honored far down the line
What great news. A well deserved honor for Mr. Pesky that is long overdue. I am sure that if Mr. Pesky was not in Navy during WWII -during his prime playing years- he would have compiled numbers/statistics that would have made him a Hall of Famer easily. Congratulations Johnny!!!
None of those guys qualify for retired numbers in my opinion. All were great in their own ways, but I'd like retired numbers to be reserved for the best of the best -- an even greater honor than being in the Hall of Fame. Don't turn this into the Celtics approach of honoring just about everyone. They'll need to add a 3rd digit to the jerseys in a few more years.
Rice, Dewey, and Tony C
If the powers that be, decide to retire Clemens' number, the game before that event will be the last one I will ever listen to, attend at, or watch on television.
As a 10 year-old kid in '86, who idolized the great things he did (i.e. the 20 Strike Out Game, AL Run in '86, etc.) and was throughout High School, still a fan of his after the unceremonious way Duquette ran him North of the Border (and we all know what happened after that)...
I hope that Messieurs Luccino, Henry and Epstein (if he has any say)
"mis-remember" Number 21 when it comes to considering his worth on that wall.
Finding your mojo again AFTER you leave the Red Sox, negates any accomplishment prior to that.
(Are you reading this Manny?)
No question about Dewey.
Tiant and Conigliaro are possibilities.
Rice, maybe not, just like Boggs.
But it would be cool to see a Dave Roberts 90ft honor line somewhere in the park one day. Hopefully to the Guinness line.
Clemens, and Boggs should never get their numbers retired in Boston. They Jumped ship to New York!
Tony C, Dewy and Jim Ed yes!
Bill Lee
A great move, and overdue.
Next: Dwight Evans. They never should have given away his number to begin with.
What a Joke he wasn't even the best player to wear # 6 that distinction would go to Rico Petrocelli, what do you say to someone like RICO. That is a slap in the face.
Why don't we just retire everyones numbers.
Johnny Pesky is a great guy and was an average player. This is great Marketing ploy by great Marketeers. I can see it now in the front office "Lets have a day" who can we honor?
I vote against retiring number 21 for Clemens... he won how many Cy Young awards while with Toronto and New York? Not to mention the steroid scandal. He won't meet any of the standards in due time, the HOF is a huge question now, plus as I stated above, it could be argued he had some of his best years with other teams.
The day Clemens is up there with Pesky is the day I burn my Red Sox hat. Ortiz is the only one that really comes to mind...eventually.
Boggs? Are you kidding? Maybe he'll wear a Yankee hat at his induction ceremony. Or would it be a Rays hat if he was paid enough.
45? Maybe. His exit wasn't so acrimonious as others.
SELL OUT!
Evans & Rice
The kind fo teamwork & loyalty they showed to the Sox is a lost art. Manny? He put the "I" in team. Pedro? long shot. Clemens? Dogged it his last year year and fired back at the city and fans while he resurrected himself in Toronto. Boggs? marginal, too marginal.
The retired numbers should read 1 4 6 8 9 14 24* 27
*Evans
Great for Pesky! His number should be retired simply for the dedication he has always had to this team, never mind his other accomplishments. Which is a quality Clemens and Boggs don't have. Never in their lives will they come back to Fenway and sit on the bench with the rest of the team and cheer them on. Nor go to Sox spring training and offer their wisdom to our young rookies. Don't retire their numbers, Red Sox. Yes, they had good stats, but in Boston, attitude and heart means more here than any other city.
As a Red Sox fan since 1932 I am thrilled that Jonny Pesky is being honored! Really a deserved award I used to see him in Denver when he was a coach for the Yankee farm team there .At that time he said Yawkee would nevver givehim amy consideration. The next time I saw him he was manager!! Looking back I feel consideration should be given.Hall of Fame be damned. Jim Rice-Yes. Clemens-NO, Tony Conigliaro-Yes. Jimmy Foxx -Yes. Lefty Grove-Yes.
Dom DiMaggio's number has to go up. He played for longer with the Red Sox (1940-1953) than Pesky in the same era. I believe he was an All-Star 7 times and was widely considered on of the two best defensive center fielder in the game, along with his brother Joe, for more than a decade. It is widely considered a slight that he has not been selected to the Hall of Fame.
The team should keep the requirements as they are and just make the point that Pesky is an exception to the rule due to exceptional circumstances. If another former player devotes 50 years of his baseball career to the Red Sox as Pesky has, then they'll get considered too in due time.
I don't know about retiring numbers, but Julio Lugo and JD should just retire.
I wouldn't want to see Boggs up there...if he didn't want a B on his HOF plaque, then he doesn't deserve to have his number retired.
Clemens should never ever be up there for the way he left and general stupidity in life after he left.
Tony C.? Maybe a sign with his name on it a la Jim Loscutuff, but however the fates may have conspired against him, he simply didn't do enough to warrant retiring his number.
Looie? I could maybe see it simply for being able to be the first minority athlete to be adored in this town, and he had a great run here, but it wasn't a long enough run to retire the number.
Rice and Dewey probably deserve it on some level, but as an earlier poster mentioned, where do we draw the line on retiring numbers? It really probably should've stopped at Williams and Yaz. And besides they already gave Dewey's number to another HOF-caliber player along the way.
A Red Sox Hall of Fame at "Red Sox Place?" Sure, bring all these guys in, but number retirement should be kept to the barest minimum.
The only numbers that should be retired are those of LEGENDS. I support making the HOF exception for Pesky, but don't open the floodgates here. Keep this honor as it should be, next to impossible to achieve but for a select few.
24 - for Evans and manny - a nice symmetry. Class and skills, and skills.
Definitely Rice. He WILL be in the hall; the cat was a terror to pitchers and reporters alike; hence, the current stonewall. I can't vouch for Tiant: 8 years with the Sox, no hall of fame, didn't finish his career here, went to the Yankees!! What about Wake instead? Before you scoff - consider that he's second all-time in wins. I wouldn't put Clemens, would consider Cy Young (no number, eight years). If you can't have Wake, you shouldn't have Luis. E/M and Rice, definitely.
Is not the traditional requirement for jersey retirement a policy left over from the previous ownership? So much has changed, for the better, in how this franchise is run under the new ownership that I do not understand why this old policy is still adhered to. If a player is enshrined in the Hall of Fame wearing a Boston Red Sox cap, like Wade Boggs, then the club should also retire the jersey number of the player. By doing so, the club would be recognizing what the Hall of Fame enshrinement committee had already determined, that the player's most formidable years were with the Red Sox.
//At some point in the future we will see 24 but when it is there, it'll be Manny's//
Chris,
I don't think so on the Manny front. If you want to root for him, go root for #99 in LA. He dogged it all year for his own selfish reasons. he has alot of nerve holding the Red Sox hostage for more money. Too bad they couldn't have just fired him and ripped up that ridiculous contract. No one deserves that kind of money. Not even ARod.
Dwight Evans will be the only player I ever think of when I see #24!!!!
End of story!
Pesky deserves the honor...but please don't cheapen it by starting to throw in a bunch of others. Making the HOF should not be sufficient to have your number retired...but if you don't make the HOF...the only exceptions should be someone like Pesky who has spent more than half a century with the team.
Let the Yankees retire Boggs' and Clemens' numbers.........
Tony C deserves it. He ended up giving his life to the Sox. I also like Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant. The Yankees can retire Boggs and Clemens.
#14 should have been retired a long time ago. also, 24 should be retired for dwight evans, as it never should have been worn by manny
i love how no one mentioned Curt Schilling (38). Curt I truly appreiciate everything you did for the sox and for the city. But please don't come back next year, and stop blogging...no one cares what you think or have to say about anything. And stop calling into WEEI and polluting the airwaves with your nonsense
It's about time that Johnny Pesky is honored with his #6 being retired. I do agree with retiring #14(Jim Rice), #24(Manny), and #45(Pedro). However, my memory of Wade Boggs riding around in Yankee Stadium on a horse is still too vivid to think about his number #26 being retired at Fenway. I do not agree with retiring #24 for Dwight Evans(good/loyal player) but Manny will be in HOF. I just hope the Red Sox won't follow in the footsteps of the Celtics and retire everyone who brought home a championship. If that happens then might as well retire Dave Roberts' #31 as well.
Jim Rice will likely be a Hall of Famer before much longer and should be up there. It can also be argued that Tony C. would have been that caliber player as well, had his career not been so tragically cut short- I'm not sure that the floodgates should just be opened and numbers start being retired because of a player's "potential", but that would be an interesting debate.
Dwight Evans was one of the original "dirt dogs" and has been a great ambassador for the game, and has continued to work with the team, first coaching, and later as a consultant. He deserves a look.
Just throwing it out there- Dennis Eckersley defined the role of the closer as we now know it (granted, not during his first stint here), and did finish his career here, now working for the TV station owned by the team as a studio analyst. Worth at least the debate? I think so...
Pesky is definitely deserving to have his number retired. His circumstances are very unique to Red Sox lore. There should be some restriction to retiring player's numbers, but perhaps not ending a career with the Red Sox. But, the HoF requirement remains a good threshold for other than Pesky and perhaps Jim Rice if he does not make the HoF. If a player enters the Hall as a Red Sox player, he should be a candidate for having his number retired regardless of whether he ends his career with the Sox. In this case: Pedro and Manny for sure. Clemens is now a whole different story...
Boggs was a bum! Sure he had 200 hits a year...how many were clutch?
Johnny put up Hall of Fame considerable numbers during his RedSox tenure. His career in Boston may have been even better had he not lost years of his peak to the Military. All that said, I hate to have the Sox keep "amending" their requirements as it will cause a stir if they don't add many more players. This should be VERY special and I'm not even sure they should have opened a loop hole for the beloved Fisk. More appropriate, IMHO, would be a sign with names such as "Pudge", "Pesky", "Tony C".... Etc.. Lets not diminish Johnny's contributions but lets not diminish those of the 4 current retirees' either.
I think that space should be reserved for someone who's number who not only produced incredibly ON the field, but someone who has (and continues to) produced for the entire Boston/New England community. It's still a work in progress, but save room up there for #34 Big Papi!!!!!!!!!!!
Tony C, Rice. Definitely. Papi & Tito eventually. Who cares if they made the HOF or didn't play 10 years? How arbitrary is that? Tony C especially in light of the Pesky thing.
I love Tiant and Boggs, but probably not. No to Evans.
Clemens, never ever. His number should have been given out already, as should have Nomar's.
Tony Conigliaro. While his career was short, he was the youngest player to ever reach 100 HRs and well could have been a Hall of Famer were it not for that errant pitch by Jack Hamilton in August, 1967.
Bad idea. They named a spring-training park in name of Pesky b/c he did not comply with team standards for number retirement. That should suffice. This really opens a can of worms.
What's next, are they going to start selling sushi at the work....wait, they are already doing that.
Hurry up and retire El Tiante's #23 before Lugo comes back swinging for the fences! CONGRATS JOHNNY!!!
I would like to see some numbers, like Wakefield, Rice, Evans, etc, to not be retired, but just honored in some way...the numbers could hang in some other part of the Park, and be in another color other than red, and those numbers would be reserved for really players that prove themselves in a some way, either by being batting champ, ERA leader, or by playing for the team for more than 5 years and doing pretty well for themselves.
Phil Plantier for sure. Oil Can Boyd. Carlos Quintana and of course Tom Brunansky.
Brian Daubach!, Just kiddin
I think they should generally keep the standards , but Pesky should absolutely be an exception to the rule....
Kudos to the Sox ownership! I appreciate the debate above and below - there are certainly some exceptional players who should be considered, but Mr. Pesky is THE clear exception to the team's longstanding criteria for retirement. This is a lifetime achievement award and Mr. Pesky's culmulative contributions exceed that of any Red Sock. As a player, coach, and manager, Mr. Pesky IS Red Sox Nation. He endured most of the 86 years of heartbreak and experienced the thrill of liberating victory (twice). Have there been better individual performers? Certainly. But has anyone earned the esteem of management, players, and fans alike by remaining committed - as one of us - like Mr. Pesky has over the decades? Absolutely not. Thank you, Mr. Pesky - enjoy your day. May there be many more championships ahead, because you, sir, bleed Red Sox red.
If we are adding pitchers, and finishing your career with the Sox is not a prerequisite, then BABE RUTH obviously has to be there.World Series championships, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, especially in the big spot. I am not sure if they had numbers when he was on the Sox and he did finish his l;ast few meager years elsewhere, but he is the best and lets claim him as our own.
Never Roger Clemens. He hated his time in Boston. He mailed in his last three seasons here. If Roger's number is there I will never attend a game a Fenway or watch the Sox on tv again. Clemens did nothing for Boston.
its about friggin time what were -the red sox - waiting for final approval from bill buckner? go johnny go!!!!!!!!!
Saw Boggs at third base at the finale at Yankee Stadium Sunday night in all his glory. Deal breaker. Not a chance at Fenway - and hope he chokes on a chicken bone!
The Sox have already tipped their hat to Pesky, Pudge and Tony C.
Pesky - they named a spring training park after Pesky. And we all know about the pole, but the Sox did not name that after him.
Pudge - they officially dedicated the left field pole to Pudge last year.
Tony C. - they named those new awful right field roof bleachers after Tony C.
Johnny Pesky is an exception to the rule, and it is because of his long service to the team in a number of different roles.
Numbers aren't retired for being a great player, but a transcendent player. I don't want to see so many retired numbers that new Sox players end up with number 102. Tony C, I remember you, but you don't get it on the promise you had. Jim Ed, oh so close... , but that career ended so quickly. Pedro and Roger? Nope, for sad departures . Dewey is my choice because I don't think great defenders get their due, and that last year in Baltimore didn't really count. I just think the modern fan might think it is for Ramirez, so, I guess not. Jason Varitek may be due it for what he has done for Boston pitching over the years, including being a factor in Curt coming to Boston.
I may be a minority in this, and while I know it pretty much breaks all of the rules for why a number should be retired, but if Curt Schilling never pitches again, I think his #38 should be up there. I'm not the biggest fan of his and certainly never apologized for him or his mouth, and I disagree with most of his personal political views, but all of that aside I think he earned it. I think sometimes, a person can have the kind of achievement where the normal rules fail to acknowledge it. The Red Sox went 86 years without a championship. Curt Schilling came over, had a great first season with the Sox, and then did what he did in that '04 postseason. No team had ever forced a Game 7 in a playoff series after being down 0-3, and Schilling did just that. He left it all on the field that year, and basically ended up losing his '05 season recovering from it. It was an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime thing to see... and as long as Schilling doesn't come back next year and pitch for another team, I think he should be considered for having his number retired. I don't think it should happen immediately; let it be after all of the players on the '04 team have officially retired. All of these other players who have had their numbers retired, they were all great players and great Red Sox, and there is no argument to made against the honor they received; they deserved to have their numbers retired as much as anyone. But consider that none of them won a World Series, and Curt Schilling did, and I think the context of his achievement along with the personal hardships he endured to succeed in the clutch have more than proved his worthiness for that sort of honor. The Red Sox don't win in '04 without Schilling, and that's when everything changed.
David Ortiz should probably get his number retired for similar reasons, although like Schilling I believe it should be a long time after he finishes playing. DHs seem to get shafted when it comes to big awards, and it's often cited that they don't have to play defense so they're not playing by the same set of rules as the other players and shouldn't be honored as such. I don't know that I've ever agreed with that but I think it's a valid point to bring up. However, David Ortiz isn't just any DH, he's been a very special player for us. Even if the HOF or anyone else doesn't want to acknowledge his achievements because he's a DH, David Ortiz didn't invent the role of the DH, he just played under the system that he was signed under. Even if sportswriters and the HOF keep overlooking what he's done, that's no reason for the organization to do the same.
But perhaps more than the other two guys, I think Tim Wakefield deserves to have his number retired. He's probably not going to the HOF anytime soon, but I can't think of any other player who's put the team's interests ahead of his own more often than Wake. He's the ultimate team player, and that combined with his tenure on the Sox and his achievements in that time should make him at least worthy of consideration. Again, that's not to take away from the people who did meet those requirements and did have their numbers retired...but how many championships did they win? Schilling and Ortiz rightly get a lot of credit for the team's success in 2004, but when I think back to that crucial ALCS, it's Tim Wakefield that I think about. On the verge of being down 0-3, most starting pitchers would walk in with the attitude of "Tomorrow I'll win the game for the team and save the day, I can do it." Wake walked up to Francona and said, "This [game 3] is lost anyway, let me go out and pitch so you can save the bullpen and give us a chance to win tomorrow." And then he pitched some crucial extra-innings in games 4 and 5. He benched himself for the World Series last year, not because he didn't think he could pitch one game, but because he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to pitch two games if it came down to that. There's a selflessness there, a lack of ego, that you just don't see very often. So whether it's huge contributions in the postseason like that, or more simple things, like the fact that this summer he was on a terrific run for the Sox where he gave them a chance to win each time he went out but ended up with a slew of non-decisions instead of wins because of no run support, that give him that extra intangible that I think make him worthy of having his number retired.
What about players that did not where numbers and won Red Sox championships?
Carl Mays 1915 - 1919 3 WS
Babe Ruth 1914 - 1919 3 WS
Harry Hooper 1909 - 1920 4 WS
Cy Young 1901- 1908 1 WS
Certainly Pesky deserves to be honored for devoting most of his life to the Sox, bu t instead of changing the criteria for having one's number retired, the Sox should have something similar to a Ring of Fame that several NFL teams have. They could put players names (and numbers if they desired) around the facade of the upper deck or even along the top of the wall in left. That way, they could honor those players that made a contribution but don't meet the requirements for having their number retired.
Rice and Evans should definitely join the club. They made great contributions to the Sox and to Baseball, and deserve it just as much as anyone. I also have to support Pedro, he was the most dominant pitcher in the history of the team in his prime-- and turned in two of the greatest seasons in the history of baseball in 1999 and 2000.
I also really like the idea of Dom DiMaggio-- reuniting "the teammates" up there in right field.
Tony C is tough, his was so great, but his tenure so short (albeit no fault of his own)
I'm sorry but I am just not in favor of this. I always loved that the Red Sox wouldn't retire your number unless you are a Hall of Famer and retire with the Red Sox (except for the special circumstance for Fisk, acknowledging the mistake made letting him go), which makes sense and differentiates us from the Yankees, who retire the number of guys like Don Mattingly who isn't in the Hall. If they aren't retiring Boggs #26 then why Pesky? It makes no sense and opens the door for guys like Varitek and Schilling, great players but not Hall of Famers, to have their numbers retired and it cheapens it. The Pesky Pole ought to be enough.
If you have to finish your career with the sox and be a hall of famer, then my vote goes to Schilling and Ortiz (if he stays). The curse breakers
Rice's number above all should be retired. He has been unreasonably snubbed by HOF voters. No one and I mean no one who left the Red Sox and played for the Yankees should have their number retired. Cases in point, Boggs and Clemens, not only eventually played for the Yankees but both epitomized the self-centered
ego-mania that in part kept the BoSox from winning a championship in the 80's.
Tony C., a Favorite Son..., with both a tragic end to his career and life, does not warrant having his number retired.
Put Number 14 on the right field facade where it belongs!!
Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I expect many people to not like this idea, but hey, the guy brought 2 WS home and is probably, next to Jeter and R. Jackson, one of the most clutch performers in the history of the game. Remember, he loved the fans here, just not the mgt. I say, do it for Manny!!!!
Pesky deserves it. But I have a question: under the old rules, was retirement mandatory? In that scenario, if Schilling is done and makes the Hall of Fame -- a 50-50 proposition -- he'd be up there.
Good decison. HE deserves it!!!!!!!!!!!
Looking at retiring #6 simply for contributions on the field seems short-sighted. Pesky spans generations of Red Sox players and fans from Ted Williams to Dustin Pedroia, from your grandfather to your kids.
Just as the HOF keeps people out for what happened off the field (Joe Jackson, Pete Rose), retiring Pesky's number also considers what he's done for the organization on and off the field for decades.
In my mind......... Tony C.
As a kid I loved watching him. I was 14 when he got beaned and that ended my baseball playing days also.
Tony C was the First Generation of Red Sox Nation and still to this day, when I see #25 I think of Tony C.
This only waters down a great tradition. How does Pesky, (much as we love him), belong up there with Williams and Yaz?
The only others I can imagine breaking the rules for would be:
#7 -- Domenic DiMaggio
#? -- Smoky Joe Wood
Otherwise, keep the rules in place. Jim ED will get int the HOF -- actually, why aren't we lobbying for Johnny and Dom to the Veterans' Committee -- Johnny has better numbers than either PeeWee Reese or Rizzuto and they're both in there.
We have now descended into second rate team territory. This is like the Padres retiring the number of legendary Randy Jones.
Tony C! The only Red Sox player who gave his life for the team. Tony C may have been the greatest Red Sox Player of all time except for the fast ball to the head. We will never know. He sure did hit 100 home runs FAST! That BUM that hit him in the head should have been castrated.
How any of you can claim to want Clemens or Boggs on the wall is way beyond me. They are in their minds New York Yankees. Let New York have them and Keep them. Clemens and Boggs are just Dirty MONEY GRUBBING TRAITORS. Clemens is also a Damn Liar (" I want to play ball closer to my family", so he moves to Toronto). Tony C gave his life for the Boston Red Sox. Enuf Said!
Tony C gave his life for the Boston Rede Sox
I Pray for Tony C.
Tony C! The only Red Sox player who gave his life for the team. Tony C may have been the greatest Red Sox Player of all time except for the fast ball to the head. We will never know. He sure did hit 100 home runs FAST! That BUM that hit him in the head should have been castrated.
How any of you can claim to want Clemens or Boggs on the wall is way beyond me. They are in their minds New York Yankees. Let New York have them and Keep them. Clemens and Boggs are just Dirty MONEY GRUBBING TRAITORS. Clemens is also a Damn Liar (" I want to play ball closer to my family", so he moves to Toronto). Tony C gave his life for the Boston Red Sox. Enuf Said!
Boggs so overwhelmingly deserves it. If they made a loop hole for Fisk, they should make one for Boggs as well. He played 11 years for the Sox and was ready to sign a deal for 5 more years offered by Mrs. Yawkey. But she passed away and the club rescinded the offer. Instead, they offered him a year. That's an insult, not an attempt to keep him with the club. So after having a bad year being distracted by this nonsense from the club, he leaves. Signs with the Yankees, hits .300 ball for four more seasons, wins 2 Gold Gloves, and helps teach the Yankees how to hit as he helps them win their first of 4 World Series championships. So, bang-up move by the Red Sox. They tossed Boggs aside and THEY paid for it. Its a old story with the club, but they have no reason to punish Boggs over it. They need to apologize to him and bring him back into the Red Sox family.
No one deserves it more than Johnny Pesky. Again it is long overdue.
He has been a true example.
"The Best Johnny and Many Thanks for your example"
Love Johnny and what he represents to the franchise, but a number represents more than a lifetime achievment award. The pole and the field in FL are perfect. Boggs and Pedro should be the next 2, jury is still out on Clemens until he comes clean. Of course if the Sox meet the Dodgers in the WS, I'd retire Dewey's 24 with the full celebration right before the start of game 1.