Johnny Pesky could always hit. At age 82 he still can.

During a workout at Fort Myers, Fla., last week, Pesky hit fungoes, [practice fly balls] to outfielders for an hour in 80-degree heat. He is a special assistant coach to the team.

It was Pesky’s hitting that brought him to the Red Sox in 1940, which started a 56-year relationship with the club.

For the Red Sox, Pesky has been an all-star shortstop, coach, manager, radio-TV announcer, even an ad salesman. He also worked in the Yankees, Tigers and Pirates organizations, but he always considered himself a member of the Red Sox family.

It was his mother who made the decision for Pesky to sign with the Red Sox when scout Ernie Johnson brought flowers for her and bourbon (I.W. Harper) for his father. The Tigers, Yankees and Cleveland Indians were also interested.

Pesky was assigned to Rocky Mount after collecting his $1,500 signing bonus. “That’s just tip money for these guys, ” Pesky said, gesturing to the latest flock of major league players exercising in center field.

Pesky was a born hitter. He led his minor league each year in hits before coming to Boston in 1940. He set the record for most hits by a rookie (205), a record that survived until Nomar Garciaparra, also a shortstop, broke it in 1997.

Pesky was the first Red Sox batter to have three consecutive 200-hit seasons until Jim Rice and Wade Boggs broke that record. Once he got to the majors, Pesky led the league in hits for three straight years and had the record for most singles (172) until Boggs broke surpassed that in 1985.

As a veteran Red Sox player, Pesky is well aware of the “Curse of the Bambino” which has supposedly kept the Red Sox from winning the World Series since 1918.

“We came close so many times. A lot of people blame me for losing in 1946,” Pesky said.

In an earlier version of Bill Buckner’s famous error in the 1986 World Series against the Mets, critics said Pesky “held the ball” for too long while Enos Slaughter scored the winning run for the Cincinnati Reds.

“He was 15 feet from home when I got the ball. I was thin-skinned about it for a while but even Slaughter said later it wasn’t my fault. I hit .324 and had 200 hits the next year so it didn’t bother me. Nobody is ever perfect in this game,” Pesky said.

The Red Sox should have won several world series in the 1940s and 1950s.

“From 1948 to 1951 we had as good a [hitting] team as you could put on the field. But we never had enough pitching. Look at the Yankees and Arizona last year. You have to have four, five or six solid pitchers to win today,” Pesky said.

In his best year, Pesky made only $22,500 in salary, a fraction of today’s multi-million dollar paychecks for third-string second basemen. “I don’t resent it. They should get all they can,” he said.

If Pesky could choose a team of all-star Red Sox players, he would start with Ted Williams.

“He was the best hitter ever,” said Pesky.

For center field Pesky would pick the “Little Professor,” Dom Dimaggio. “Dominic was the perfect ball player. He never made a mistake,” he said.

For the third outfielder, Pesky would have a tough time picking between Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Fred Lynn and Carl Yastrzemski. At third base would be Frank Malzone, with Joe Cronin sharing time with Luis Aparicio at shortstop. Bobby Doerr would be at second base with slugger Jimmy Foxx at first. The catcher would be Carlton Fisk, of course.

For the pitching staff, Pesky would draft Dave Ferris, Tex Houston and Mel Parnell.

“Parnell was just outstanding. One year he finished 27 games,” Pesky said.

Perhaps the Pesky all-stars could win the World Series this year, but it is doubtful the current Red Sox group can, given their noticeable lack of pitching and current organization turmoil.

“I hope they can win it before I die. I don’t know how much longer I can hang on. I said I was going to pack it in at 75, then 80. If I do get to 85, I will pack it in. I always said I didn’t want to end up like Jimmy Nesse [Angels coach], hitting fungoes at 90.”

If he stays until age 90, Red Sox fans are confident that Pesky will still be able to hit.