Turk Farrell

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name= Turk Farrell

|image = Dick Turk Farrell.JPG

|caption = Farrell with the Dodgers

|position=Pitcher

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1934|4|8}}

|birth_place=Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1977|6|10|1934|4|8}}

|death_place=Great Yarmouth, England

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 21

|debutyear=1956

|debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 17

|finalyear=1969

|finalteam=Philadelphia Phillies

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=106–111

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.45

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=1,177

|teams=

Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|1956}}–{{mlby|1961}})
Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|1961}})
Houston Colt .45s / Astros ({{mlby|1962}}–{{mlby|1967}})
Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|1967}}–{{mlby|1969}})

|highlights=

5× All-Star (1958, 1962, 1962², 1964, 1965)

}}

Richard Joseph "Turk" Farrell (April 8, 1934 – June 10, 1977) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from {{by|1956}} to {{by|1969}}, spending his entire 14-year MLB career in the National League (NL). He threw and batted right-handed. Farrell's son is former MLB pitcher Richard Dotson.{{ cite web| url=https://theathletic.com/2056094/2020/09/11/there-might-be-a-family-secret-richard-dotsons-real-life-fable/ | url-access=subscription | title='There might be a family secret': Richard Dotson's real-life fable | last=Stark | first=Jayson | author-link=Jayson Stark | date=September 11, 2020 | website=The Athletic | access-date=September 12, 2020 }}

Career

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he played for the NL Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Houston Colt .45s / Astros.

Before the 1953 season, Farrell was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent. The 19-year-old began his Minor League Baseball (MiLB) career with the class A Schenectady Blue Jays. There, over a two-year span (1953–54), he would build a Win–loss record of 18–18, with a 3.30 ERA. He spent 1955 in the IL, with the Syracuse Chiefs, going 12–12 with a 3.94 ERA; in 1956, he played for the Miami Marlins, going 12–6 with a 2.50 ERA.

In September, 1956, Farrell would get a late-season look by the Phillies and would lose his only decision; but he set the groundwork for a 14-year run in the major leagues. Farrell was one of the young Phillies pitchers of the late 1950s, along with Jack Meyer and Jim Owens, dubbed the "Dalton Gang" for their fun-loving late-hour escapades.{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/1960/06/13/637793/the-dalton-gang-rides-again|title=The Dalton Gang Rides Again|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=June 13, 1960|first1=Walter|last1=Bingham|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714132810/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/1960/06/13/637793/the-dalton-gang-rides-again|archivedate=July 14, 2014}} Retrieved July 21, 2016. "When he loses, he loses his temper," a teammate once said of Farrell, "but when he wins he's the life of the party."Marazzi, Rich; Fiorito, Len (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=WIXeCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22when+he+loses+he+loses+his+temper%22&pg=PA109 Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers]. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 109. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4688-9}}. Retrieved 2017-01-01. Bearing the brunt on one occasion was the mirror in a Milwaukee bar, broken by Farrell's fist with the explanation, "I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw, so I threw a punch."

Phillies fans liked what they saw of the {{height|ft=6|in=4}} hard-throwing rookie right-hander in 1957 when he was 10–2 plus 10 saves and a 2.38 ERA in 52 appearances out of the bullpen. On September 3, 1957, Farrell was the winning pitcher for the Phils in the last of fifteen home games the Dodgers played at the Jersey City Roosevelt Stadium, 3–2 in twelve innings. After four more seasons of relief work with the Phils, Farrell was traded to the Dodgers early in 1961.

Farrell was selected in the 1961 MLB expansion draft by the Houston Colt .45s. In 1962, Farrell finished with the seventh best ERA at 3.02, but with a poor 10–20 record.

A starter in Houston, Farrell was used almost exclusively in relief with Philadelphia and Los Angeles. His career totals include 590 games pitched (134 starts), a won-loss record of 106–111, 83 saves, and an ERA of 3.45.

He was selected to the National League All-Star team five times (1958, 1962, 1962, 1964 and 1965) in his career.

Farrell last pitched in the major leagues on September 19, 1969, for the Phillies against the Expos in a game the Phillies lost 10–6. Farrell went {{frac|1|2|3}} innings in the first game of a doubleheader at Parc Jarry, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Later life

Farrell moved to England, where he lived and worked on an offshore oil rig just off Great Britain in the North Sea.{{citation needed|date=January 2011}}

He was killed on June 10, 1977, in an auto accident in Great Yarmouth, England, at age 43. He was buried in Houston, Texas.

References

External links

{{baseballstats|mlb=114028|espn=21468|br=f/farretu01|fangraphs=1003950|brm=farrel002ric|retro=F/Pfarrt101}}

[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/180d81d6 Turk Farrell] at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=farretu01 Turk Farrell] at Baseball Almanac
{{find a Grave|13583471}}

Category:1934 births

Category:1977 deaths

Category:Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players

Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico

Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:Baseball players from Boston

Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players

Category:Houston Astros players

Category:Houston Colt .45s players

Category:Industriales de Valencia players

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players