American baseball player and manager (born 1962)
Baseball player
John Edward Farrell
(born August 4, 1962) is an American former baseball
pitcher
,
coach
, and
manager
in
Major League Baseball
(MLB). During his eight-season playing career, Farrell was a member of the
Cleveland Indians
,
California Angels
, and
Detroit Tigers
. He was the
pitching coach
for the
Boston Red Sox
from 2007 to 2010, before serving as manager of the
Toronto Blue Jays
from 2011 to 2012. He returned to the Red Sox as their manager in 2013, winning the
World Series
with them in his first year, and led the team until 2017. Since 2018, he has held a scouting position with the
Cincinnati Reds
.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Amateur
[
edit
]
Farrell grew up in
Monmouth Beach, New Jersey
,
[1]
and was a star pitcher for
Shore Regional High School
. Upon graduating from high school in 1980, Farrell was drafted by the
Oakland Athletics
, but he did not sign.
[2]
He played
college baseball
for
Oklahoma State
, where he had a 20?6 record for his four-year career.
[1]
In 1982, he played
collegiate summer baseball
with the
Hyannis Mets
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
.
[3]
After graduating from Oklahoma State, he was drafted by the
Cleveland Indians
in the second round of the
1984 Draft
.
Professional
[
edit
]
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 the
California Angels
(1993?94), again with Cleveland (1995), and finished his career with the
Detroit Tigers
(1996).
Post-playing career
[
edit
]
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 by
USA Today
'
s
Sports Weekly
. In 2003, they were also named as having the top farm system in professional baseball by
Baseball America
.
Following the 2006 season, the Boston Red Sox hired Farrell as its new pitching coach, replacing
Dave Wallace
.
[5]
Farrell rejoined Red Sox manager
Terry Francona
, as they had been teammates together on the Indians.
[6]
Toronto Blue Jays
[
edit
]
During the 2010 off-season, Farrell was rumored to be one of four finalists for the job of manager of
Toronto Blue Jays
, along with
Brian Butterfield
,
DeMarlo Hale
, and
Sandy 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 pitcher
Jon Rauch
from going after umpire
Alfonso 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 the
Kansas City Royals
, Farrell was forced to leave the dugout in the ninth inning due to a then unknown illness. He was later diagnosed with
pneumonia
at
Mount 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]
Boston Red Sox
[
edit
]
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 pitcher
David Carpenter
to Boston in exchange for infielder
Mike Aviles
.
[13]
On October 22, 2013, Farrell was named
Sporting News
' 2013 AL Manager of the Year.
[14]
In 2013, Farrell became the fifth first-year Red Sox manager to win the
American League pennant
. The Red Sox subsequently went on to win the
2013 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 the
Red Sox
won the Series at home, the last time being the
1918 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 with
lymphoma
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 the
American League Division Series
against the
Cleveland Indians
, led by their former manager
Terry Francona
, under whom Farrell had previously served.
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 the
Houston Astros
. On October 11, 2017, the Red Sox announced Farrell's termination after serving five years as manager.
[17]
Cincinnati Reds
[
edit
]
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".
[18]
Managerial records
[
edit
]
- As of games played on October 9, 2017.
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
|
Won
World 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
|
Lost
ALDS
(
CLE
)
|
BOS
|
2017
|
162
|
93
|
69
|
.574
|
1st in AL East
|
1
|
3
|
.250
|
Lost
ALDS
(
HOU
)
|
BOS total
|
810
|
432
|
378
|
.533
|
|
12
|
11
|
.522
|
|
Total
[12]
|
1134
|
586
|
548
|
.517
|
|
12
|
11
|
.522
|
|
Broadcasting
[
edit
]
In March 2018, it was announced that Farrell would join ESPN's
Baseball Tonight
as an analyst, in time for the start of the
regular season
.
[19]
He has also appeared as an analyst on
Fox Major League Baseball
during the
2019 season
.
[20]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Farrell's father, Tom, pitched in the Cleveland Indians farm system in the 1950s until an injury ended his baseball career.
[21]
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 works
lobster fishing
near
Ipswich, Massachusetts
, on his boat
Seaweed
.
[22]
Farrell has three sons, all of whom were selected in the
MLB Draft
. Jeremy, an infielder, played
college baseball
at
Virginia
, then was in the
Pittsburgh Pirates
minor league system from 2008 through 2012, and in the
Chicago White Sox
system from 2013 through 2015.
[23]
[24]
Shane, a right-handed pitcher out of
Marshall
, was taken in the 46th round by the
Toronto Blue Jays
in 2011, and then worked for the
Chicago Cubs
in their baseball operations department.
[25]
[26]
His youngest,
Luke
, a
Northwestern
right-hander, was selected by the
Kansas City Royals
in the sixth round of the
2013 draft
and has pitched in MLB for the Royals, Reds, Cubs and
Twins
. 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.
[27]
Shane was named Amateur Scouting Director for the Blue Jays before the 2020 season.
[28]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Edelson, Stephen (November 6, 2013).
"John Farrell's Shore mentors proud of Red Sox manager's World Series championship"
.
Asbury Park Press
.
Archived
from the original on November 7, 2013
. Retrieved
November 7,
2013
.
- ^
"1980 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft"
.
Baseball-Reference
. Retrieved
June 16,
2021
.
- ^
"Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League"
(PDF)
.
Cape Cod Baseball
. Retrieved
September 25,
2019
.
- ^
"Cleveland Indians 9, Milwaukee Brewers 8"
.
Retrosheet
. August 18, 1987.
- ^
"Red Sox appoint John Farrell major league pitching coach"
.
Boston Red Sox
. October 16, 2006. Archived from
the original
on March 5, 2016
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ^
Cafardo, Nick
(October 17, 2006).
"Red Sox hire Farrell to be pitching coach"
.
The Boston Globe
. Retrieved
June 2,
2010
.
- ^
Miller, Mark J. (October 22, 2010).
"Did Boston's Farrell win Jays job?"
.
Yahoo! Sports
.
Archived
from the original on October 25, 2010
. Retrieved
October 25,
2010
.
- ^
Chisholm, Gregor (October 25, 2010).
"Blue Jays name Farrell new manager"
.
MLB.com
. Archived from
the original
on November 7, 2012
. Retrieved
November 7,
2012
.
- ^
Calcaterra, Craig (July 5, 2011).
"John Farrell had his jaw knocked out of place by Jon Rauch"
.
NBC Sports
. Retrieved
April 27,
2012
.
- ^
"Boxscore: Phillies 5, Blue Jays 3"
.
MLB.com
. July 2, 2011
. Retrieved
April 27,
2012
.
- ^
"Jays' Farrell leaves game early, diagnosed with pneumonia"
.
The Sports Network
. August 26, 2011. Archived from
the original
on September 10, 2011
. Retrieved
September 10,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"John Farrell"
.
Baseball Reference
.
Sports Reference LLC
. Retrieved
June 25,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Blue Jays complete deal with Red Sox"
.
Toronto Blue Jays
. October 21, 2012. Archived from
the original
on June 14, 2013
. Retrieved
October 21,
2012
.
- ^
Juckett, Ron (October 22, 2013).
"John Farrell Named AL Manager of the Year"
.
Sports Media 101
.
Archived
from the original on October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 29,
2013
.
- ^
Shaughnessy, Dan (September 4, 2014).
"Manager John Farrell takes share of blame for Red Sox season"
.
Boston Globe
. Retrieved
October 4,
2015
.
- ^
Edes, Gordon (October 4, 2015).
"John Farrell to return as Red Sox manager in 2016"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
October 4,
2015
.
- ^
Browne, Ian (October 11, 2017).
"Red Sox dismiss Farrell after five seasons"
.
MLB.com
. Archived from
the original
on October 13, 2017
. Retrieved
October 11,
2017
.
- ^
Castrovince, Anthony (March 14, 2018).
"Farrell joins Reds as scout"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
March 14,
2018
.
- ^
Cafardo, Nick (March 22, 2018).
"John Farrell joins ESPN's 'Baseball Tonight' cast"
.
Boston.com
. Retrieved
March 22,
2018
.
- ^
Moore, Tamir (February 22, 2019).
"2019 MLB on FS1 Schedule"
.
Blogspot
. Retrieved
June 25,
2019
.
- ^
"Thomas Farrell Minor League Statistics & History"
.
Baseball-Reference
. Retrieved
October 17,
2017
.
- ^
Grossfeld, Stan (June 25, 2019).
"John Farrell goes lobstering"
.
The Boston Globe
. Retrieved
June 25,
2019
.
- ^
Shetler, Jason (April 6, 2013).
"White Sox Sign Jeremy Farrell"
.
Bucco Nation
. Retrieved
April 6,
2013
.
- ^
"Jeremy Farrell"
.
Baseball-Reference
. Retrieved
September 22,
2017
.
- ^
Lott, John (June 8, 2011).
"Jays Draft Sons of Manager, Bench Coach"
.
National Post
. Toronto.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Cubs announce Baseball Operations Staff structures, extend the contract of Assistant GM Randy Bush"
.
MLB.com
. October 23, 2012
. Retrieved
June 16,
2021
.
- ^
Sullivan, Paul (January 18, 2018).
"John Farrell's family thriving in Cubs organization"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
January 18,
2018
.
- ^
"Shane Farrell named Amateur Scouting Director"
.
MLB.com
. January 9, 2020
. Retrieved
July 12,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]