Joe Hesketh

“Any time Joe Hesketh has been healthy, he has won big league ballgames.” — Boston Globe sportswriters Bob Ryan and Larry Whiteside, 19921

That quote followed the wiry left-hander’s arguably best season in the majors, when he got 12 wins for the Boston Red Sox. STATS Inc.’s Scouting Report also described how Hesketh “came back from years of arm problems and two releases to pitch the way he had in 1985.”2

As a 1990 article observed, “Hesketh looks into his baseball past every so often and ponders what could have happened had he not run into Mike Scioscia” in a play at the plate in August 1985.3 The resulting broken leg aborted his outstanding rookie season, and a nerve problem in his shoulder hampered his comeback. Elbow problems cropped up again in 1993, and Hesketh’s shoulder remained chronically tender. Even so, he won 29 games for Montreal and 31 for Boston over the course of 11 seasons (1984-94).

***

Joseph Thomas Hesketh was born in Lackawanna, New York, on February 15, 1959. He was raised in nearby Blasdell, another suburb of Buffalo. His parents were Gerard T. and Clarabell (née Reese) Hesketh.4 Jerry and Clara raised six children – Joe, his brother Tom (one year younger), and four daughters.5

Jerry Hesketh started out sweeping floors at the nearby Bethlehem Steel plant. “He was a steelworker – 37 years. He went from blue collar to white collar. It wasn’t a big thing, but he became the head of a plant.”6

In his leisure time, Jerry helped teach baseball to both Joe and Tom, who was also a left-handed pitcher. Joe told podcaster Donovan Scott that playing sports and wanting to be an athlete was in his DNA.7 Talking about his father, he said, “He was the guy who really got us going, playing in the backyard and all that kind of stuff. Coaching us along the way a little bit until we were about 16 or 17. Up to Legion Ball, might have been 18. And then we went our own way.”

Hesketh attended Frontier High School in Hamburg, graduating in 1977. He then went to SUNY-Buffalo. After his sophomore year, in the summer of 1979, he pitched in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Cotuit Kettleers. Joe told Donovan Scott, “It was a great litmus for us.…Can I play against the guys from Arizona? Can I play against the guys from California? Can I play against the guys from Texas? And when you find out, it’s a great confidence booster.”8

After that experience, Hesketh cemented his status as “one of the most dominant pitchers in school history.” In three collegiate seasons, he posted an overall 1.77 ERA, including 0.91 in his junior year, 1980. Hesketh threw six shutouts that year – reportedly still a school record through the 2025 season– and was named ECAC New York-New Jersey District Player of the Year.9

Hesketh was a second-round pick of the Expos in the 1980 amateur draft, thanks to scout Al Harper. The choice came as compensation for Boston’s signing of free agent Tony Pérez the previous November. “The day I got drafted,” Hesketh recalled, “my mom had to come upstairs and get me out of bed, and said, ‘Joe, phone’s for you…It’s some guy from the Montreal Expos.’”10 Hesketh said he didn’t remember ever talking with any Expos scout, but Harper came to the house a couple of days later and signed him.

Once signed, Hesketh was sent to the Florida State League’s West Palm Beach Expos. He had immediate success, with an earned-run average of 1.92 and a won-lost record of 8-2 for a Single-A club with a losing (64-73) record. On August 16, he was elevated to the Double-A Memphis Chicks in the Southern League. He started three games for them in the waning weeks of the season, with a record of 1-0.

Unfortunately, Hesketh missed the entire 1981 season and half of 1982 with elbow problems that struck in mid-March.11 He had Tommy John surgery that May.12 He was reinstated in July 1982 and assigned again to West Palm Beach. He started eight games and was 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA.

Hesketh had been “spectacular” in the Florida Instructional League that fall (3-0 with a 1.22 ERA in eight starts). Thus, he was understandably worried when he felt some soreness in March 1983.13 Fortunately, things were okay.

The lefty opened 1983 with Memphis once more and was 6-4 (3.04 ERA) in 11 starts. On June 16, he was promoted to the Triple-A Wichita Aeros. In 15 American Association starts, he was 5-5 (5.09 ERA).

Hesketh had a breakout year in 1984. The Expos changed their Triple-A club to the Indianapolis Indians. The Indians finished first in the American Association and their skipper, Buck Rodgers, was named Manager of the Year in the Association. Hesketh compiled a record of 12-3 (3.05 ERA) and had 135 strikeouts in 147 2/3 innings, which made him a league All-Star.14 One of the losses was a 1-0 two-hitter against Omaha on June 15, during which he was outdueled by future major league all-star Danny Jackson.

Hesketh also made it to the major leagues. He was promoted to Montreal on August 5 – and worked the next day, a date with extra meaning for his family. “My first official day in the big leagues was my dad’s birthday. I was pitching in Indianapolis, and he and my mom drove there. The day after they arrived, I got the call to the big leagues. They got back in their car and drove back to Buffalo, spent a day there and then drove up to Montreal.”

Hesketh’s major-league debut came the very next night, August 7, at Olympic Stadium. After four innings, the Philadelphia Phillies had a 4-0 lead. Expos starter Bryn Smith gave up a Juan Samuel single to lead off the top of the fifth. Samuel stole second and then scored on another single. Manager Bill Virdon gave the ball to Hesketh in relief.

The first thing Hesketh did on a big-league mound was to commit a balk – even before he threw a pitch. “A guy named Jeff Stone was on first base – who I had known from past games. A speedster baserunner. I got to the mound, and they said this guy will run. I said, ‘Yep, I know him.’ I warmed up. I was a little nervous. Shaky, you know. I went into my stretch and I just made a move over to first base that I thought was just an easy move. It wasn’t even my good move. As soon as the ball left my hand, the umpire at first base [Joe West] called balk.”

After getting a fly ball out, Hesketh then gave Mike Schmidt an intentional walk. Bypassing the feared slugger worked; Hesketh got a strikeout and a groundout. He left for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth. The Phillies won, 6-2, but the rookie had retired each batter he faced, other than the intentional walk.15

Three days later, he was given the starting assignment against the visiting Chicago Cubs. Hesketh pitched seven innings that Friday night before coming out for a pinch-hitter. He gave up a leadoff home run to Gary Matthews in the top of the fourth; a second run scored later in the inning on a single, double, and groundout. They were the only two runs he gave up in the seven innings, the cluster of three hits being half of the six he allowed in his quality start. The Expos won with two runs in the bottom of the eighth as Gary Carter homered and Mike Ramsey doubled in another run. The win went to reliever Bob James, and Carter said, “I would have liked to have hit it when Joe Hesketh was still in the game.”16

At the plate, Hesketh struck out his first time up and bunted too hard in a failed sacrifice the second time up. He was a notoriously poor hitter, even for a pitcher. As a batter in his National League years, he hit .070 – with 58 strikeouts in 105 plate appearances. He walked 10 times and had six base hits – all singles – with two RBIs. At one point in 1988, Buck Rodgers (by then the Expos manager) was asked about which pitcher was the worst hitter on the team. He responded, “Joe Hesketh, without a doubt. He is lousy. Hesketh is probably the worst hitting pitcher in the league right now. If he pulls the ball, the third-base coach usually has a chance to make a play. That’s how bad he is.”17 Rodgers had tongue in cheek because Hesketh batted left-handed.

Hesketh won his first game on August 19, in his second start. At San Diego, he worked seven innings without giving up a run. He gave up five hits, one of them a double, and walked two. He struck out six. Jeff Reardon relieved, and they combined for a 3-0 shutout. Hesketh lost a couple of games, one in 11th-inning relief and the other when the team scored only one run. His last start of the season was on September 28 in Montreal, and he threw a four-hit shutout against the New York Mets. He finished his first season 2-2 with an ERA of 1.80 in 45 innings pitched (below the ceiling of 50 that defines rookie status for pitchers).

On November 8, 1984, Hesketh married Nancy Rosato. They have two children, Whitney and Joey. As of April 2026, they have five granddaughters and an enduring marriage.

Under new manager Rodgers, Hesketh displayed signs of stardom in 1985, including two strong starts in May. Opposed by Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros on May 8, Hesketh struck out 12, allowing four hits in 7 2/3 innings and combining with Reardon on a 1-0 shutout. On May 24, they teamed on a two-hit, 2-0 shutout of the San Francisco Giants. Hesketh also threw a shutout on his own, allowing the Cincinnati Reds only four hits on July 28.

However, his season ended prematurely, on August 23. Pitching against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, he retired the first six batters he faced, but in the bottom of the second he drew a two-out walk and then tried to be the second runner to score on a Tim Raines double. He was thrown out at home and suffered a fractured left shinbone that ended his season.18 Hesketh missed his teammate’s slide sign and came in standing up against LA catcher Mike Scioscia, who was at least 30 pounds heavier and renowned for his skill in blocking the plate. Hesketh went head-over-heels as he tripped over Scioscia’s extended leg. He landed hard and was carried off the field on a stretcher.19 “I think if he would have slid, he would have been safe,” said Scioscia. “I feel terrible about what happened.”20 The catcher showed his sympathy in the moment: “As [Hesketh] lay writhing on the ground, clutching his shin, Scioscia tagged him out, then bent over the fallen Expo, his hand on Hesketh’s shoulder.”21

Given several more starts, Hesketh might have finished higher in the 1985 NL Rookie of the Year voting. He had a 10-5 record and a 2.49 ERA when he went down, with 113 strikeouts in 155 1/3 innings. However, Vince Coleman – who stole a major-league-leading 110 bases – got all the first-place votes, and 20-game-winner Tom Browning was a strong runner-up. Hesketh wound up receiving one third-place vote.

Hesketh was back in action at the beginning of the 1986 season but was limited to 15 starts, the last coming on July 3. He was 6-5 with a mediocre 5.01 ERA. In mid-June, Rodgers had called Hesketh “a head case. He’s not pitching well but there’s nothing wrong with his velocity or his arm. … We’ve talked to him about it, and we’ve told him there’s nothing we can do for him anymore. He has to start pulling his own weight.”22 Hesketh did win his next three games, but there was in fact a physical problem. He went on the disabled list and didn’t return to the majors for a year. He had what was described as “muscle discomfort below his shoulder blade.” On August 8, he underwent surgery performed by Dr. Frank Jobe for what was later termed a “nerve problem” in his left shoulder.23

Hesketh might have been expected to miss all of 1987 but returned in June. Preparing himself for his return to Montreal, he pitched in six games for Double-A Jacksonville. He was ready and from mid-August onward worked in 18 games – all as a reliever – for the Expos. He had no decisions but had a very good 3.14 ERA.

That spring, Joe and Nancy welcomed their first child, daughter Whitney. In March, Joe had told his expectant wife, “I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl as long as the kid is a switch-hitter who runs good and has a good arm.”24

In 1988, Hesketh started the season in Indianapolis but was with Montreal from May 1 on. Again pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, he worked in 60 games, finishing 23 and earning nine saves. He posted a 2.85 ERA with a record of 4-3.

Hesketh was not as successful in 1989. After a ghastly outing at home on May 1, allowing the Reds nine earned runs in 1⅓ innings, he spent the rest of the season paring down his ERA, but it still ended at 5.77. At one point in June, he accepted a 10-day temporary assignment to Indianapolis. He was used by Montreal in 43 games with a couple of DL stints. He was not at all happy about the way he had been used. One later article read: “Bitter is the word Hesketh used to express how he felt about his situation last season, when he was ‘put on the back burner’ after some bad outings.”25

Expos fans also turned on Hesketh. A 1990 Boston Globe article said, “Joe Hesketh’s career in Montreal effectively ended last season when the booing…made it nearly impossible for him to pitch effectively.”26 Hesketh himself said, “I’d go out to the mound… and they’d boo me before I even made a pitch. I don’t know what it was. I guess it was the old, what have you done for me lately? I had some pretty good seasons up here, but because I had one bad season it was like I had the plague.”27

Hesketh threw three scoreless innings in two April games for the Expos in 1990 but then was placed on waivers. Catcher Mike Fitzgerald said, “His problem was they didn’t pitch him very much. He has the best stuff of anyone I’ve played with in my 11 years as a pro who has been released.”28

Hesketh was claimed by the Atlanta Braves on April 30. He relieved in 31 games, throwing 31 innings, but with an ERA of 5.81, the Braves released him on July 23 – the second time he’d been cut loose in 1990.29

However, Red Sox GM Lou Gorman had had his eye on Hesketh. Gorman said, “When I was with the Mets, he always pitched well against us. I saw him on TV a couple of times last year, and I thought he was throwing well.”30 A week later to the day, Hesketh signed as a free agent with Boston, a contender in the AL East. The Red Sox signed him to help with middle relief, joining Rob Murphy as another left-hander in the bullpen.

The Expos had used Hesketh as “Mr. Setup and Mr. Mopup” – but he had “never stopped thinking of himself” as a starter.31 That September, he got his first starts since 1986, filling in twice for an injured Roger Clemens. He got into the sixth inning both times but received next to no offensive support, losing by scores of 3-1 and 4-0. He was 0-4 for the Red Sox, in the two starts and 10 relief appearances, but his earned run average was good (3.51). Boston made the postseason and got swept by Oakland in the ALCS. Hesketh did not make the playoff roster.

In 1991, after a strong spring training, the 32-year-old Hesketh had his best year since 1985. He was 12-4 – his .750 winning percentage led both leagues – with a 3.29 ERA. Only Clemens (18-10) had more wins on the team. Hesketh was determined. “There’s a cliche about playing them one game at a time, but after what I’ve been through that’s not a cliche for me.”32

Hesketh relieved for the first half of the season, starting his first game on June 30 as a number of starters suffered injuries or illness. He more or less took Danny Darwin’s place when shoulder problems ended Darwin’s season. In addition, Tom Bolton was out for a month and didn’t start from July 21 until September 16. The team was in fourth place in mid-July but began to climb in the standings. On July 14, Hesketh won his first game as a starter since June 28, 1986. After his win on August 3, one newspaper wrote, “Joe Hesketh…may have pitched the Red Sox back into contention.”33 He won five of his six August starts, with an ERA of 2.14 in those wins. He was “a model of resiliency.”34

By season’s end, he had relieved in 22 games and started 17. He struck out 104 batters in 153 1/3 innings. If Boston hadn’t finished in second place, he surely would have been called on to pitch in the playoffs.

Red Sox fans voted him the “10th Player Award” for 1991.35 Aside from the honor and a trophy, the award came with a free truck, prompting one writer to proclaim, “What a year for Joe Hesketh. In the spring he was a spare tire, and there he was last night getting a free brand new truck.”36

Hesketh himself had no grand illusions. “I’m the Rodney Dangerfield of pitchers,” he said. Of several past years, he said, “I didn’t know what my role was, or if I’d have a role. I was thinking maybe middle reliever. What kind of goals can a middle reliever have? I don’t set goals for myself.”37

In the offseason, Lou Gorman reportedly said that re-signing Hesketh was his top priority. The pitcher signed a new free-agent deal with the Red Sox in December, reported at $3.55 million for two years. He was projected as the #3 man in the rotation, behind Clemens and Frank Viola. Coming into the season, he was 28-17 with a 3.17 ERA as a starter.38

Despite a number of good outings, Hesketh didn’t win a game until his eighth start of the season, on May 28. His record in 1992 was 8-9, but that was decent for a team that fell to last place (73-89), 23 games behind first-place Toronto. Hesketh’s ERA was more than a full run higher than the season before, at 4.36, inflated by three rough starts in mid-June and mid-July. He started 25 games for new manager Butch Hobson; later in the season, he relieved in five others, which he wasn’t happy about. He matched his 104 strikeouts of the year before, in slightly fewer innings, but opponents had more success getting on base and scoring runs against him. The team ERA was better than the year before, but the Red Sox offense scored 132 fewer runs than in 1991. Only Clemens (18), Viola (13), and Darwin (nine) had more wins than Hesketh did.

Hobson was manager again in 1993; the team moved up from seventh to fifth place. Hesketh, who struggled in spring training, was designated the No. 3 starter as the season began.39 After May 9, however, he worked entirely out of the bullpen. Overall, he appeared in 28 games, starting only five. He finished 3-4 with an ERA that slipped further to 5.06.

Sean Horgan of the Hartford Courant had often been a booster of Hesketh in prior years but was unsparing in mid-July. He knew that Hobson and Hesketh didn’t really get along, but wrote that Hesketh was “awful,” adding, “Hobson has tried Hesketh, 34, in every role imaginable and he’s failed in all of them.”40

There had been reports of shoulder soreness at times, and of tendinitis in his left elbow (as early as during spring training in March). Ultimately, the latter landed him on the disabled list from August 20 through the end of the year. Dr. Frank Jobe found a bone spur and chips in the elbow, and surgery took place in September.

The size of Hesketh’s contract made it very difficult to deal him during or after the season. The 1994 season was his last in the majors, as he’d proclaimed going into the season. “I love the game, and I still love going out there and challenging guys. But I don’t need the other aggravation. I’ve talked it over with my wife and this is it for me. I’m going to bust my butt for the next four months and then I’m done. I’ve gotten nine years out of this arm, and that’s more than anyone could have expected.”41

Hesketh was named the fifth starter again and indeed made 20 starts while relieving in five other games. He had a good final year, though in late May he said, “I’m not trying to prove anything. This is my ninth year. I’ve accepted my role. The game’s tough enough as it is.”42

This strike-shortened season ended after August 10. Not one pitcher on the fourth-place Red Sox had 10 or more wins (Clemens was 9-7). Hesketh (8-5) had the best winning percentage on the team of anyone with more than two decisions; his ERA improved to 4.26. He pitched markedly better over the last month before the work stoppage, winning his last four decisions. He worked 7 2/3 innings in a 1-0 win over the Yankees on July 28; in his final start, on August 7, he got a 4-1 win over the Indians after allowing just one unearned run in eight innings.

The strike came, though, and Hesketh’s contract was completed – the Red Sox elected not to extend it. As he’d stated, he was prepared to retire from baseball, but then he began to have second thoughts. He knew he’d had a good year in 1994.43 Rather than simply make him an offer, however, Boston’s front office asked his agent what he was looking for – an unorthodox approach that left him wondering. “Negotiations never start like that. They usually make an offer and then [we talk]. I asked, ‘What kind of deal is that?’ I thought about it, and called him back and said, ‘Tell them I’ll play for one-third of what I was paid when I was pitching for them.’ [The season was an abbreviated one. He was willing to take a two-thirds cut.] My agent got back to me and said that the Red Sox said no. To this day, I’ll never understand why.”

The New York Yankees reached out to Hesketh and offered him a split contract, enticing him to spring training, but a couple of days before the season began, he was asked to report to the minors. Instead, he formally announced his retirement. He remarked, “I busted my rear end for two weeks to see how it would go. My arm didn’t come around the way it was supposed to.”44

Recounting the story in 2026, Hesketh said, “At the time, Buck Showalter was the manager. They were only going to have 12-15 days of spring training.” (The strike was not resolved until April 1995.) “I told him I’d drive down to Florida and if I was able to pitch after those 12 days, I’d love to play for the Yankees.

“I had some lingering tendinitis issues in my shoulder. We always worked through them when I was with Boston, because they knew what was going on with me. Sure enough, during those 12 days, my tendinitis showed up again. We were on our way to New York to start the season and our last exhibition game was in Atlanta on our way north. I was scheduled to pitch an inning that night. Somehow I was able to get two guys out, but I also walked two guys and it was ugly. Buck came out to the mound and he said, ‘Hey, Hesky, your shoulder’s bothering you, isn’t it?’ I said, ‘Yes, it is.’

“I gave him the ball. I went right into the clubhouse and called my wife. I said, ‘Did you see that?’ It was on TV. She said, ‘Yes, I did. Are you OK?’

“I said, ‘No, I’m not. Would you mind if I came home?’

“‘Not at all, I want you to do what you want to do.’

“I said, ‘I don’t know if I can really get through this year. I don’t know if these guys really understand this. I’m just going to come home.’

“Buck called me in his office and he asked me if I would go to Columbus – their Triple-A team – to get my shoulder right. ‘As soon as that happens, we’ll call you up.’

“I had already had 11 years. I had had enough of dealing with trying to get my shoulder right. I got on a plane that night and flew home to Tampa.”45

In February 1996, the Texas Rangers offered Hesketh a minor-league contract. Two days later, having thought about it, he told his agent, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve had enough.”46 He elected not to head to spring training and stayed retired.47

At that time, Hesketh had been married 11 years. He and Nancy continued to watch their children grow up. Six years later, the Heskeths moved from Tampa to Buffalo. Joe long had been recognized in his native area – and in 2002, he was named to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.48

As Hesketh recalled, after they moved, “Nancy worked a bit in the insurance business, for a company called Independent Health, here in Buffalo. I think she did that for about 10, 12 years.” As for himself, Hesketh said, “I didn’t have anything in mind. Growing up and playing amateur ball here, I still had a lot of former teammates and former opponents in the area. I didn’t have any plans, but through mutual friends, I met a guy from Boston who owned a softball facility here. I started giving pitching lessons. One thing led to another and I got involved with travel baseball organization, helping kids learn to pitch and also coaching travel teams. I was a pitching coach for two years at the University of Buffalo [2006-2008]. I was still involved with the summer stuff – travel baseball.

“One day, I ran into the head coach at Erie Community College. I’d gotten to know him over the years. He asked me if I’d be willing to work with him and their team, and I said, ‘What the heck? I’ll give it a try.’ I was pitching coach at ECC for maybe seven years.”

After some time away, Hesketh was enticed back for a final season. In 2025, he rejoined the ECC coaching staff, albeit just for one year. “After last season, I called it a day. I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been very blessed. Like most players, you always have ups and downs, but I’ve been very blessed to be able to help a lot of kids along the way. To use some of what I learned and to help a few kids.”

Last revised: July 1, 2026

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Joe Hesketh for an April 2026 interview, and to Donovan Scott, who helped the author connect with Joe in early 2026.

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Mike Eisenbath and fact-checked by Larry DeFillipo. Thanks also to Rod Nelson.

Photo credit: Joe Hesketh, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, SABR.org, RetroSeasons.com (Expos media guides), and the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, ed. Lloyd Johnson and Myles Wolff (Baseball America, 2007).

Notes

1 Bob Ryan and Larry Whiteside, “Hesketh Zipping Along,” Boston Globe, March 15, 1992: 52.

2 John Dewan, editor, The Scouting Report, 1992, New York: HarperCollins Publishers (1992): 65.

3 “Hesketh Shakes off What Might Have Been,” Buffalo News, July 11, 1990.

4 Clarabell Hesketh obituary, Buffalo News, March 26, 2011.

5 Tom played baseball through college at the State University of New York at Fredonia. “My brother got out of college and he got into the banking business with Buffalo’s Goldome Bank. He got out of that and started working as a warehouse laborer in the Tops grocery chain up here, working there until he retired.” Author interview with Joe Hesketh on April 29, 2026. All otherwise-unattributed direct quotations from Joe Hesketh come from this interview.

6 Hesketh interview.

7 Donovan Scott, “Joe Hesketh – 2nd Round Pick 1980 MLB Draft – Montreal Expos,” The Moneyball Channel, YouTube.com, May 23, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W_qekt-I2I.

8 Donovan Scott podcast.

9 “Joe Hesketh,” BornBuffalo.com, https://bornbuffalo.com/joe-hesketh/. See also “Joe Hesketh,” Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, https://www.buffalosportshallfame.com/joe-hesketh/. Accessed March 21, 2026.

10 Donovan Scott podcast.

11 His 1981 elbow problems first appeared in February. See Tony Violanti, “Hope Springs Eternal for WNYers,” Buffalo News, March 14, 1981: Sports-11 and “Chicks Roster Could Include More Veterans,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 1, 1981: 43.

12 Laszlo Denes, “Hesketh Is Armed to Return,” Palm Beach Post, July 18, 1982: 51 and “Chicks Win, Maintain 2-Game Lead,” Memphis Press-Scimitar, May 12, 1981: 19.

13 Greg Haney, “Arm Problem Has Hesketh Down But Not Out,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee), April 6, 1983: 31.

14 He was later given the Allie Reynolds Award for the league’s top pitcher.

15 Hesketh committed 16 balks over the course of his career, which spanned 961 2/3 innings.

16 UPI, “Expos trim Cubs, 4-2, on Carter homer in 8th,” Newark Star-Ledger, August 11, 1984: 19.

17 “Pitching for some more hitting.” Boston Herald, August 20, 1988: 32. He had four hits in 1985, the last of the four on May 24. The next time he got a hit was on April 23, 1989. It was the last one he ever got.

18 Gordon Edes, “Guerrero, Duncan Hit Grand Slams in Costly Loss for Expos,” Los Angeles Times, August 24, 1985: 15. A photograph of the collision accompanies the article.

19 Edes, “Guerrero, Duncan Hit Slams in Costly Loss for Expos.”

20 “Sports People: Another Expo Hurt,” New York Times, August 25, 1985: Section 5: 9.

21 Edes, “Guerrero, Duncan Hit Slams in Costly Loss for Expos.”

22 Howard Sinker, “First it was St. Louis; now Montreal is moaning about the Mets,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, June 25, 1986: 12C.

23 “Expos,” The Sporting News, July 21, 1986: 17 and August 25, 1986: 18. It was later said the surgery had been to “free an entrapped nerve” in his shoulder. See “Expos,” The Sporting News, March 2, 1987: 18. A number of stories later termed it an impinged nerve.

24 “Expos,” The Sporting News, March 23, 1987: 30.

25 Robes Patton, “Expo Hesketh Tries to Get Back to Where He’s Starting,” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), March 25, 1990: 10C.

26 Frank Dell’Apa, “Gardner Goes on DL Begrudgingly,” Boston Globe, August 1, 1990: 30.

27 “NL,” USA Today, May 3, 1990: 03C.

28 Ed Giuliotti, “In Case You Missed It,” Sun-Sentinel, April 29, 1990: 5C.

29 Don Hudson, “Braves Shake Up Bullpen,” Gainesville (Georgia) Times, July 24, 1990: 81.

30 Bob Ryan, “When he’s healthy, he’s happy,” Boston Globe, August 4, 1991: 73, 86.

31 Ryan, “When he’s healthy, he’s happy.”

32 Marvin Pave, “Hesketh has perfect comeback for critics,” Boston Globe, May 23, 1991: 94.

33 Sean Horgan, “Hesketh puts Jays in their place,” Hartford Courant, August 4, 1991: E1.

34 Steve Fainaru, “Model of resiliency,” Boston Globe, September 1, 1991: 45.

35 Dan Shaughnessy, “Hesketh is people’s choice,” Boston Globe, October 5, 1991: 37.

36 David Cataneo, “Hesketh was indeed an unsung hero,” Boston Herald, October 5, 1991: 58.

37 Michael Gee, “Happy Hesketh moves masses,” Boston Herald, March 5, 1992: 12.

38 Nick Cafardo, “He’s third and foremost,” Boston Globe, April 11, 1992: 35.

39 Sean Horgan, “Red Sox are improved but troubles persist,” Berkshire (Massachusetts) Eagle, April 14, 1993: C4 and Garry Brown, “Starters have something to prove,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Union-News, April 8, 1993: 39.

40 Sean Horgan, “Red Sox: Pitching sustains them,” Hartford Courant, July 15, 1993: B1E. Fairly or unfairly, Horgan wrote, “The problem – and isn’t this a recurring theme in baseball? – is the Red Sox gave Hesketh a guaranteed contract not only through this season, but next. That may be Gorman’s worst signing ever.” It would have cost the team $2 million to simply release him.

41 Sean Horgan, “Hesketh’s future in question,” Hartford Courant, June 7, 1994: E4F.

42 Marvin Pave, “Hesketh’s not in it for long haul,” Boston Globe, May 27, 1994: 52.

43 Nick Cafardo, “GMs hunting for bargains in free agent free-for-all,” Boston Globe, April 4, 1995: 78.

44 Ben Walker, AP, “It’s time to play the real ball,” Huntsville (Alabama) Times, April 25, 1995: 23.

45 Author interview April 29. 2026.

46 Author interview April 29. 2026.

47 Associated Press, “Rangers’ Rodriguez loses arbitration case,” Corpus Christi Caller-Times, February 17, 1996: C7.

48 https://www.buffalosportshallfame.com/member/joe-hesketh/. The site contains more information about his high school and college ball.