Johnny Pesky salutes the fans on opening day at Fenway Park on April 8. His number (6) will be retired in a ceremony before Friday night’s game against the Yankees.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

BOSTON — For literally all of his adult life, Johnny Pesky has been linked with his dear friends Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr. Now he’ll join them in immortality in the right-field corner at Fenway Park.

Tossing aside some rigid standards, the Red Sox have decided to honor one of their longest-serving employees with the ultimate tribute. Pesky’s No. 6 will be retired in a ceremony before Friday night’s game against the Yankees. He’ll join a select group. Only five other Red Sox numbers have been retired: Williams (9), Doerr (4), Joe Cronin (1), Carl Yastrzemski (8) and Carlton Fisk (27). Jackie Robinson’s 42 was retired by every major-league team in 1997.

“Bobby Doerr called me this morning and said he heard about this,” an appreciative Pesky said at a news conference attended by the Red Sox ownership group yesterday. “This is very flattering to me.”

Pesky was told about the honor Monday night. He was watching the Sox at Fenway, just as he does nearly every home game.

“I was flabbergasted. I’m very fortunate. I’m very flattered by the whole thing. I didn’t think I was that good of a player. I wasn’t in the Ted Williams or Bobby Doerr class but I played with some good guys and I’m quite flattered by this announcement,” Pesky said.

While not a Hall of Famer, Pesky was a very good player. An excellent fielding shortstop, Pesky also hit .307 in his 10-year career, seven of which came in Boston. Pesky lost three seasons to service in World War II yet still owns the eighth-best batting average (.313) in club history and stroked more than 200 hits in three different seasons. He helped the Sox to the 1946 World Series when he hit .335 and led the American League with 208 hits.

His playing career will be best remembered, however, by one play. In the eighth inning of Game Seven in the ’46 Series, the Cardinals’ Harry Walker lined a shot to left-center field. Enos Slaughter took off from first and came into third base quickly. When Pesky hesitated slightly with his relay throw from the outfield, the speedy Slaughter kept on running all the way home with a run that broke a 3-3 tie.

Whether Pesky held the ball too long or Slaughter made one of the best base-running moves of all time is an argument that is engraved in Red Sox lore.

But Pesky bounced back from the play and became the ultimate fan favorite. He went on to serve as a Red Sox manager (1963-64 and five games in 1980), coach, instructor, radio and TV announcer and ad salesman. For most of the last 68 years, Pesky and the Red Sox have been synonymous.

“Anytime you have a legend who comes back, and stays around, it’s important to have those type of people,” said backup catcher Kevin Cash. “Is there anyone more popular in the game than Johnny Pesky is with the Red Sox? Yogi with the Yankees, but after Berra I think Pesky is a pretty important guy. He’s got a pole named after him.”

While already immortalized with the naming of “Pesky’s Pole” along the right-field foul line, seeing the No. 6 attached to the facade 30 feet above wasn’t seen as a possibility. The Red Sox established criteria for such an honor several years ago with candidates needing to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, having played for the Sox for 10 or more years and to retire with the club. Pesky fell short in two categories but the current ownership insist that they “inherited” those guidelines and now have the right to make exceptions.

“We consider them to be useful guidelines rather than firm rules,” said team president Larry Lucchino. “I think that Johnny Pesky’s career cries out as exceptional in his length of term and the versatility of his contributions on the field, off the field, in the dugout and as such we consider Johnny a worthy exception to the rules that were set down before.”

kmcnamar@projo.com