What years did John Farrell play?

John Farrell played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1996.

Was John Farrell a pitcher?

Yes. John Farrell pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 355 strikeouts.

What was John Farrell's career ERA?

John Farrell finished with a 4.56 career ERA, going 36-46 with 355 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did John Farrell have?

John Farrell recorded 355 career strikeouts.

Is John Farrell in the Hall of Fame?

No. John Farrell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

John Farrell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1987-1996)

John Farrell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1996 for the Cleveland Guardians, the California Angels, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 10 seasons. Across 116 career appearances, he went 36-46 with a 4.56 ERA and 355 strikeouts.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 12, 2026

W–L 36–46

ERA 4.56

WHIP 1.41

SO 355

Pitcher PIV -7605.2

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 210 lb
Born: 8/4/1962 in Monmouth Beach, NJ, USA
MLB Debut: 1987-08-18
Last Game: 1996-05-22

Full name: John Edward Farrell

📋 View Manager Career

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

John Farrell — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
36	46	116	109	13	2	0	698.2	732	354	72	250	355	4.56	-7605.2

Career ERA 4.56 vs. league average 4.16 across their career seasons — 9.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Farrell (b. 1962) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1987	CLE	AL	5	1	10	9	1	0	69.0	68	26	22	28	3.39	4.29 (+21%)	-446.2
1988	CLE	AL	14	10	31	30	4	0	210.1	216	99	67	92	4.24	3.73 (-13%)	-902.6
1989	CLE	AL	9	14	31	31	7	2	208.0	196	84	71	132	3.63	3.71 (+2%)	1175.1
1990	CLE	AL	4	5	17	17	1	0	96.2	108	46	33	44	4.28	3.86 (-11%)	-1055.3
1993	CAL	AL	3	12	21	17	0	0	90.2	110	74	44	45	7.35	4.19 (-75%)	-5999.9
1994	CAL	AL	1	2	3	3	0	0	13.0	16	13	8	10	9.00	4.51 (-99%)	-376.3
1995	CLE	AL	0	0	1	0	0	0	4.2	7	2	0	4	3.86	—	0.0
1996	DET	AL	0	2	2	2	0	0	6.1	11	10	5	0	14.21	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			36	46	116	109	13	2	698.2	732	354	250	355	4.56	—	-7,605

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

John Farrell — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
116	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Farrell — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1987	CLE	AL	10	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	CLE	AL	31	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	CLE	AL	31	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	CLE	AL	17	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	CAL	AL	21	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	CAL	AL	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	CLE	AL	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1996	DET	AL	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			116	—	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (232 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

John Farrell — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	55	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	61	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

John Farrell — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	55	331.0	353	170	119	162	4.62
Away	61	367.2	379	184	131	193	4.50

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Farrell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1996-05-22	DET	KCR	L	5.0	5	5	5	4	0	1
1996-05-18	DET	CHW	L	1.1	6	5	5	1	0	1
1995-09-17	CLE	BOS	—	4.2	7	4	2	0	4	0
1994-05-30	LAA	CLE	L	4.0	8	7	7	1	1	1
1994-05-25	LAA	DET	L	1.1	2	4	4	5	1	1
1994-05-19	LAA	KCR	W	7.2	6	3	2	2	8	0
1993-09-30	LAA	MIN	L	2.0	2	1	1	0	0	0
1993-09-26	LAA	KCR	—	3.2	7	5	5	4	1	1
1993-09-21	LAA	CHW	W	6.1	7	0	0	2	2	0
1993-09-13	LAA	SEA	—	2.0	3	3	3	0	3	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Farrell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	116	109	63	79	8	7

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Farrell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1987	CLE	P	10	9	8	7	2	1
1988	CLE	P	31	30	21	23	0	2
1989	CLE	P	31	31	18	20	2	1
1990	CLE	P	17	17	8	12	2	1
1993	CAL	P	21	17	5	11	0	0
1994	CAL	P	3	3	1	6	1	1
1995	CLE	P	1	0	1	0	1	1
1996	DET	P	2	2	1	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Farrell — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	116

Salary History

John Farrell — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1993	CAL	AL	$200,000
1991	CLE	AL	$410,000
1990	CLE	AL	$320,000
1989	CLE	AL	$175,000
1988	CLE	AL	$72,000
1987	CLE	AL	$62,500
Total Career Earnings			$1,239,500

College History

John Farrell — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Oklahoma State University	Stillwater	OK	1983, 1984

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

John Farrell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

John Farrell: the record in brief

Between the debut on August 18, 1987 and the final game on May 22, 1996, John Farrell built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Cleveland Indians (1987 through 1995), the California Angels (1993 to 1994), and the Detroit Tigers (1996). Farrell, born on August 4, 1962, in Monmouth Beach, NJ, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Farrell's listed size is 210 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. Farrell's full given name, per the bio, is John Edward Farrell.

Farrell went 36-46 with a 4.56 ERA in 116 games, 109 of them starts. The totals include 355 strikeouts and 13 complete games. Against a 4.16 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.56 mark was 9.5% worse. No season topped the 14 wins of 1988. 1989 produced Farrell's most strikeouts, 132. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.63 in 1989, when the league's was 3.71.

The salary table's largest figure is $410,000 in 1991, and the listed salaries total $1,239,500. Before the majors, Farrell played college baseball at Oklahoma State University (1983 and 1984). A separate manager page covers Farrell's time running a club. Farrell's game-by-game log, linked below the splits, holds 232 games from Retrosheet.

Every defensive appearance on record for Farrell, 116 games, came at pitcher. The fielding table credits Farrell with 63 putouts, 79 assists and 8 errors on the mound.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Farrell

What years did John Farrell play?: John Farrell played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1996.
Was John Farrell a pitcher?: Yes. John Farrell pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 355 strikeouts.
What was John Farrell's career ERA?: John Farrell finished with a 4.56 career ERA, going 36-46 with 355 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did John Farrell have?: John Farrell recorded 355 career strikeouts.
Is John Farrell in the Hall of Fame?: No. John Farrell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did John Farrell play for?: John Farrell played for the Cleveland Guardians, the California Angels, and the Detroit Tigers.