By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – Only one item crossed Bill Monbouquette’s mind every time he took the mound: finish what he started.
“I never knew any other way. The year I won 20 games [in 1963], there was some days I was off today, off tomorrow, then pitch again,” recalled the 72-year-old Monbouquette Monday at McCoy Stadium, where he was signing autographs as part of Cox Legends Night. “I didn’t miss my turn too many times.”
When you’ve spent close to 50 years in baseball – 11 of those spent pitching the big leagues, chances are there’s plenty of tales to spin. Regarded as a work horse that displayed pinpoint control, Monbouquette pitched parts of eight seasons with the Red Sox, where he won 96 of his 114 career victories and earned all three of his All-Star nods. Of the 263 games he started, 78 went in the books as completions.
For the longest time Monbouquette was the answer to “Who was the last Red Sox pitcher to toss a no-hitter?” The lifelong resident of Medford, Mass. performed the feat on August 1, 1962 against the Chicago White Sox. Company didn’t enter the picture until 2002, when Derek Lowe no-hit Tampa Bay. 
The man simply known as “Monbo” holds the distinction of being a teammate of two of the greatest Red Sox ever: Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. “I was with Ted for three years (1958-60) and Yaz for five (1961-65),” said Monbou-quette, inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000.
“You could see all the skills (Yaz) had; he could throw and play (the Green Monster). Sometimes he didn’t hit the cutoff man, but I think everybody does that,” he continued. “I was 18 years old when I signed, sitting on the bench [at Fenway Park] and Ted would be saying ‘We’ve got to get these guys this day. We’re going into Cleveland the next day, and they’ve got a nasty bunch with that Bob Feller.’ Everyone was like, ‘What is he talking about? Ted hits anyone.’ ”
Monbouquette’s latter stages in baseball saw him provide tutelage to young players as the pitching coach for the Oneonta (N.Y.) Tigers, a Single-A affiliate for Detroit.
“What happens with young players is that there’s too much overthinking and overanalyzing today,” said Monbouquette. “I stay on kids; I don’t let them get away with anything.
“The thing you don’t want to do is pitch good enough to lose. There are guys who do that today, and they are satisfied,” continued Monbouquette. “There’s always room for improvement. 
“To me, motivation is the most abused word in our dictionary,” said Monbouquette. “If you go to the library, it says it comes from within. You motivate yourself. I never needed anybody to motivate me.”     
Monbouquette said he watches the Red Sox every single gameday. Though he didn’t specifically reference Daisuke Matsuzaka by name, his words suggested he’s not a fan of the struggling Japanese hurler.
“The thing that bothers me is all these 3-2 counts,” said Monbouquette. “It’s as if they don’t trust their stuff and give the hitters too much credit. You can’t do that; that’s pitching without any confidence.”
One of Monbouquette’s greatest victories came away from the mound. Diagnosed with leukemia last spring, “Monbo” received a stem cell transplant in October.
“I’m 100 percent,” Monbouquette proudly proclaimed.