Ed Farmer
Ed Farmer | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Evergreen Park, Illinois, U.S. | October 18, 1949|
Died: April 1, 2020 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 70)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
June 9, 1971, for the Cleveland Indians | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 2, 1983, for the Oakland Athletics | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 30–43 |
Earned run average | 4.30 |
Strikeouts | 395 |
Saves | 75 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Edward Joseph Farmer (October 18, 1949 – April 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight different teams, predominantly in the American League, between 1971 and 1983. The team he played the most games for was the Chicago White Sox, including one All-Star Game appearance. After his retirement as a player, he spent nearly 30 years as a White Sox radio broadcaster.
Baseball career
Farmer had limited success during the first part of his career; however, his fortunes changed dramatically following a mid-career injury. He re-invented himself while toiling for three-plus years, spent mostly in the
Early career
Farmer was a 1967 graduate of
In June 1973, Farmer was traded to the Detroit Tigers, in exchange for pitcher Tom Timmermann and infielder Kevin Collins.[3] He made 24 appearances for Detroit through the end of the 1973 season.[1]
In March 1974, Farmer was part of a multi-team trade that sent him to the New York Yankees; they then sold his contract to the Philadelphia Phillies, before he played a game for them.[3] Farmer later stated it was because he had refused a minor league assignment with the Yankees.[6] He appeared in 14 games for Philadelphia through the end of the 1974 season.[1] After the season, the Phillies traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers.[3] During the 1975 season, Farmer was limited to 14 appearances for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate,[4] then was released by the team in April 1976.[3] He did not play professionally during the 1976 season,[4] due to surgery to remove a bone spur in his right shoulder.[6]
To this point in his career, Farmer had appeared in 143 MLB games, registering a 12–12 record, with a 5.05 ERA, 14 saves, and 139 strikeouts, in 233+1⁄3 innings pitched.
Farmer was with the Baltimore Orioles from March 1977 to March 1978,[3] making just one MLB appearance for the team while otherwise pitching in Triple-A.[4] The Brewers signed Farmer in April 1978 for his second stint with the franchise.[3] Making just three MLB appearance for them during the 1978 season, he again mainly pitched in Triple-A.[4] After the season, the Brewers traded Farmer and first baseman Gary Holle to the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitcher Reggie Cleveland.[3]
Farmer made 11 MLB appearances for the Rangers during the first half of the 1979 season.[1] A notable feud started between Farmer and outfielder Al Cowens — then with the Kansas City Royals — early in the season. On May 8, a Farmer pitch thrown in the top of the fifth inning fractured Cowens' jaw and broke several teeth,[7] causing him to miss 21 games.[8] Farmer later said that Cowens had attempted to steal signs from the catcher and thought the pitch would be a breaking ball away, but it was actually an inside fastball.[9] At the start of the same game, Farmer had also hit Royals second baseman Frank White and broke his wrist,[8] which kept him sidelined for a month.[10]
White Sox years
The White Sox acquired Farmer and Holle from the Rangers on June 15, 1979, in exchange for third baseman Eric Soderholm.[3] Farmer responded by recording 14 saves for the Sox, 13 of them coming after the All-Star break.[1]
The next season, on June 20‚ 1980, Farmer and Cowens faced each other again; Farmer now with the White Sox and Cowens now with the Tigers. In a game at
In 1980, Farmer was selected to play in the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. He faced three batters, recording the final two outs of the sixth inning when he got Pete Rose to ground into a double play.[16] Farmer compiled 18 saves prior to the break, and finished the season with career highs in saves (30) and wins (7).[1] He took the White Sox to arbitration in 1981, asking for $495,000 while the team offered $300,000. The arbitrator picked Farmer's number. Jim Palmer cited this as an example of the reason for rising salaries in the major leagues: "Since the owners kept paying more and more to mediocre players, the averages kept going up and the arbitrators looked at the averages and usually went with the player's number, which raised the average some more."[17] After spending the 1981 season with the White Sox, registering three wins and 10 saves,[1] Farmer became a free agent in November 1981.[3] In his three seasons with the White Sox, Farmer appeared in 148 games and notched 54 saves while striking out 144 batters in 233+2⁄3 innings pitched, with a 3.31 ERA.[1]
Late career
The Phillies signed Farmer in January 1982,
Post-playing career
Ed Farmer | |
---|---|
Play-by-play (2006–2019) | |
Sport | Major League Baseball |
Employer | Chicago White Sox Radio Network |
Farmer was a scout in the Orioles organization between 1988 and 1990,[18] and briefly had a White Sox front office role.[19]
In 1991, Farmer took a part-time role on White Sox radio broadcasts, then was a full-time
During his life, Farmer suffered with
He died on April 1, 2020, at the age of 70. His final broadcast had been a
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Ed Farmer Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "St. Rita Family Says Goodbye to Hall of Famer Ed Farmer '67". stritahs.com. St. Rita High School. April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Ed Farmer". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ed Farmer Minor, Winter & Mexican Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Remembering the greatness of Ed Farmer, on and off the field". neiuindependent.org. Northeastern Illinois University. April 5, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
- ^ a b Gazdziak, Sam (April 3, 2020). "Obituary: Ed Farmer (1949-2020)". ripbaseball.com. RIP Baseball. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Texas Rangers 8, Kansas City Royals 7". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. May 8, 1979. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Markusen, Bruce (March 23, 2012). "Cooperstown Confidential: Thinking of Al Cowens". hardballtimes.com. The Hardball Times. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ Gammons, Peter (April 15, 1991). "Sign Language: Is Giving Signs a Higher Art Form Than Stealing Them? One Finger Says Yes, Two Say No, Three Say Pitchout". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "The 1979 KC A Regular Season Batting Log for Frank White". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Detroit Tigers 5, Chicago White Sox 3". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. June 20, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- Ft. Worth, Texas. AP. June 22, 1980. pp. 41–43. Retrieved April 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cowens-Farmer resolve their long-standing feud". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. AP. September 2, 1980. p. 19. Retrieved April 5, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago White Sox 11, Detroit Tigers 3". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. September 1, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ Markusen, Bruce (June 25, 2016). "Fro and Big Glasses: The Baseball Career of Al Cowens". vintagedetroit.com. Vintage Detroit Collection. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: National League 4, American League 2". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. July 8, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ISBN 0-8362-0781-5.
- ^ a b c d e Merkin, Scott (April 2, 2020). "White Sox announcer Ed Farmer, 70, dies". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c Seligman, Andrew (April 4, 2020). "Ed Farmer, White Sox reliever-turned-broadcaster, dies at 70". Washington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ Gregor, Scot (April 3, 2020). "Ed Farmer tributes come pouring in". daily herald.com. Arlington Heights, Illinois: Daily Herald. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Ed Farmer Archived October 21, 2020, at the Wayback Machine at The Baseball Gauge
- Ed Farmer reflects on his life in baseball from Chicago White Sox via YouTube