| John Farrell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Farrell with the Boston Red Sox in 2017 | |
| Pitcher /Manager | |
| Born: (1962-08-04)August 4, 1962 (age 63) Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 18, 1987, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 22, 1996, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 36–46 |
| Earned run average | 4.56 |
| Strikeouts | 355 |
| Managerial record | 586–548 |
| Winning % | .517 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
John Edward Farrell (born August 4, 1962) is an American former baseballpitcher,coach, andmanager inMajor League Baseball (MLB). During his eight-season playing career, Farrell was a member of theCleveland Indians,California Angels, andDetroit Tigers. He was thepitching coach for theBoston Red Sox from 2007 to 2010, before serving as manager of theToronto Blue Jays from 2011 to 2012. He returned to the Red Sox as their manager in 2013, winning theWorld Series with them in his first year, and led the team until 2017. Since 2018, he has held a scouting position with theCincinnati Reds.
Farrell grew up inMonmouth Beach, New Jersey,[1] and was a star pitcher forShore Regional High School. Upon graduating from high school in 1980, Farrell was drafted by theOakland Athletics, but he did not sign.[2] He playedcollege baseball forOklahoma State, where he had a 20–6 record for his four-year career.[1] In 1982, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theHyannis Mets of theCape Cod Baseball League.[3] After graduating from Oklahoma State, he was drafted by theCleveland Indians in the second round of the1984 Draft.
Farrell made his major league debut with the Indians on August 18, 1987,[4] playing for them until the 1990 season. He enjoyed success as part of the Cleveland starting rotation, but injuries to his right elbow caused him to miss the entire 1991 and 1992 seasons. He returned to action with theCalifornia Angels (1993–94), again with Cleveland (1995), and finished his career with theDetroit Tigers (1996).
In 1997, Farrell joined his alma mater,Oklahoma State University, as assistant coach and pitching and recruiting coordinator. He remained with the college through 2001.
From November 2001 through the end of the 2006 season, Farrell served as the director of player development for the Cleveland Indians. In 2003 and 2004, the Indians were named MLB Organization of the Year byUSA Today'sSports Weekly. In 2003, they were also named as having the top farm system in professional baseball byBaseball America.
Following the 2006 season, the Boston Red Sox hired Farrell as its new pitching coach, replacingDave Wallace.[5] Farrell rejoined Red Sox managerTerry Francona, as they had been teammates together on the Indians.[6]
During the 2010 off-season, Farrell was rumored to be one of four finalists for the job of manager ofToronto Blue Jays, along withBrian Butterfield,DeMarlo Hale, andSandy Alomar Jr.[7] The Blue Jays held a press conference on October 25, 2010, formally introducing Farrell as the team's manager for the 2011 season.[8]
Farrell suffered a dislocated jaw while attempting to restrain pitcherJon Rauch from going after umpireAlfonso Marquez,[9] during a game on July 2, 2011. Both Rauch and Farrell were ejected from the game.[10]
On August 25, 2011, during a home game against theKansas City Royals, Farrell was forced to leave the dugout in the ninth inning due to a then unknown illness. He was later diagnosed withpneumonia atMount Sinai Hospital, and was released from the hospital on August 26.[11]
He finished his stint as Toronto Blue Jays manager with a record of 154 wins and 170 losses.[12]
On October 20, 2012, it was reported that Farrell had asked to be allowed to interview for the manager position with the Boston Red Sox. The next day the Blue Jays officially confirmed Farrell had accepted the manager position with Boston.[13] In the same transaction, Toronto sent pitcherDavid Carpenter to Boston in exchange for infielderMike Avilés.[13] On October 22, 2013, Farrell was namedSporting News' 2013 AL Manager of the Year.[14] In 2013, Farrell became the fifth first-year Red Sox manager to win theAmerican League pennant. The Red Sox subsequently went on to win the2013 World Series, going from worst to first under Farrell in just a year's time. It was also the first time in 95 years that theRed Sox won the Series at home, the last time being the1918 World Series. However, the team struggled during Farrell's second year as manager and subsequently finished last in their division. Farrell accepted responsibility for their poor performance and also attributed their problems to inconsistencies in their offense.[15]
Farrell's 2015 season was cut short in August when he was diagnosed withlymphoma and forced to seek treatment. By the time of his departure, the Red Sox's struggles were continuing and they again found themselves in last place in their division, where they ultimately finished for the second year in a row. Nevertheless, it was announced that Farrell would return as the Red Sox's manager in 2016.[16]
The 2016 season was an improvement for Farrell and the Red Sox, who finished at the top of their division and returned to the playoffs. However, the team would be swept in theAmerican League Division Series against theCleveland Indians, led by their former managerTerry Francona, under whom Farrell had previously served.[17]
The Red Sox again finished at the top of their division under Farrell in the 2017 season, but were also eliminated in the divisional round for a second consecutive year, this time against theHouston Astros. On October 11, 2017, the Red Sox announced Farrell's termination after serving five years as manager.[18]
In March 2018, the Reds announced that Farrell had joined their organization as a scout, his role to be "evaluating the club's system and also serving on special assignments".[19]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| TOR | 2011 | 162 | 81 | 81 | .500 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR | 2012 | 162 | 73 | 89 | .451 | 4th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| TOR total | 324 | 154 | 170 | .475 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| BOS | 2013 | 162 | 97 | 65 | .599 | 1st in AL East | 11 | 5 | .688 | WonWorld Series (STL) |
| BOS | 2014 | 162 | 71 | 91 | .438 | 5th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 2015 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 5th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BOS | 2016 | 162 | 93 | 69 | .574 | 1st in AL East | 0 | 3 | .000 | LostALDS (CLE) |
| BOS | 2017 | 162 | 93 | 69 | .574 | 1st in AL East | 1 | 3 | .250 | LostALDS (HOU) |
| BOS total | 810 | 432 | 378 | .533 | 12 | 11 | .522 | |||
| Total[12] | 1134 | 586 | 548 | .517 | 12 | 11 | .522 | |||
In March 2018, it was announced that Farrell would join ESPN'sBaseball Tonight as an analyst, in time for the start of theregular season.[20] He has also appeared as an analyst onFox Major League Baseball during the2019 season.[21]
Farrell's father, Tom, pitched in the Cleveland Indians farm system in the 1950s until an injury ended his baseball career.[22]
As of the 2019 baseball season, Farrell spends 10 days a month working as a minor league pitching scout for the Cincinnati Reds, and at other times workslobster fishing nearIpswich, Massachusetts, on his boatSeaweed.[23]
Farrell has three sons, all of whom were selected in theMLB Draft. Jeremy, an infielder, playedcollege baseball atVirginia, then was in thePittsburgh Pirates minor league system from 2008 through 2012, and in theChicago White Sox system from 2013 through 2015.[24][25] Shane, a right-handed pitcher out ofMarshall, was taken in the 46th round by theToronto Blue Jays in 2011, and then worked for theChicago Cubs in their baseball operations department.[26][27] His youngest,Luke, aNorthwestern right-hander, was selected by theKansas City Royals in the sixth round of the2013 draft and has pitched in MLB for the Royals, Reds, Cubs andTwins. In 2018, two of Farrell's sons worked in the Cubs organization: Shane as an area scout, Jeremy as the Assistant Director of Baseball Development.[28] Shane was named Amateur Scouting Director for the Blue Jays before the 2020 season.[29]
· Baseball Almanac, orRetrosheet| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxpitching coach 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
