Highlighted Year: Dick Farrell, 1964

Pitcher, Houston Colt .45s

Age:  30 (April 8)

3^rd season with Colt .45s

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 215 

Prior to 1964:

A Massachusetts native, Farrell, the son of an amateur athlete known as “Big Turk” came to be known as “Turk”, a lasting nickname. A polio victim before he was two, he wore a leg brace until age six. Overcoming the disease after many hospital treatments, he walked with a slight limp for the remainder of his life. He still managed to become an accomplished athlete at St. Mary’s High School in Brookline, excelling in football and basketball as well as baseball, where his pitching record from sophomore to senior years was 45-5. Farrell passed on college scholarship offers to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school. Initially assigned to the Schenectady Blue Jays of the Class A Eastern League in 1953, the big 19-year-old posted a 7-3 record with a 3.39 ERA. Reassigned to Schenectady in 1954, Farrell went 11-15 for a last-place team while recording 115 strikeouts in 216 innings pitched. Moving up to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League in 1955, Farrell posted a 12-12 tally with a 3.94 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 185 innings pitched. He also hit a league-longest 475-foot home run at MacArthur Stadium in Syracuse. During the winter he pitched in the Venezuelan Association, where he performed well, including a one-hitter in the Caribbean Series. Unable to crack Philadelphia’s pitching staff in the spring of 1956, he found himself back in the International League with the Miami Marlins. “Turk”, after recovering from a broken ankle that cost him the first two months of the season, went 12-6 with a 2.50 ERA. Along the way he lost 2-0 while throwing a two-hitter due to allowing 10 walks. Receiving a late-season call-up to the Phillies, he lost his only start but stuck with the parent club in 1957 as a reliever, despite typically having started during his minor league career. Farrell went on to excel as a rookie, appearing in 52 games and compiling a 10-2 record with 10 saves, a 2.38 ERA, and 54 strikeouts in 83.1 innings pitched. With his excellent fastball, he was an All-Star for the first time in 1958, although his second half performance tailed off, likely due to overwork and the weakening effects of a severe hay fever allergy. He finished with an 8-9 tally and 11 saves in 54 relief appearances and a 3.35 ERA. The Phillies were a last-place club in 1959 and Farrell took blame as a hard-partying ringleader of the so-called “Dalton Gang” of carousers and whose pitching performance dropped to 1-6 with 6 saves and a 4.74 ERA in 38 appearances. Along the way he was briefly demoted to Buffalo of the International League. Training diligently prior to the 1960 season, he returned to good form, appearing in 59 games and posting a 10-6 record with 11 saves and a 2.70 ERA. With the team in full rebuilding mode, Farrell became a desirable trade asset but started the 1961 season with the Phillies. A poor start damaged his trade value, but he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in May. He continued to struggle and became prone to surrendering walks and home runs. For the year he pitched in 55 games and went 8-7 with 10 saves and a 5.20 ERA. Left unprotected by the Dodgers in the expansion draft for the two new National League entries for 1962, Farrell was chosen by Houston, who converted him back into a starting pitcher. He responded with a 10-20 record although he endured tough defeats due to an offense that had difficulty scoring runs. His ERA was a respectable 3.02 and he compiled 10 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 203 strikeouts over 241.2 innings. He was also the first All-Star representative in franchise history. Houston remained strong in pitching and weak in producing runs again in 1963. Farrell reproduced his 3.02 ERA while posting a winning record of 14-13, compiling 12 complete games and 141 strikeouts.

1964 Season Summary

Appeared in 32 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 32

Games Started – 27

Complete Games – 7

Wins – 11

Losses – 10

PCT - .524

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 198.1

Hits – 196

Runs – 80

Earned Runs – 72

Home Runs – 21 [11]

Bases on Balls – 52

Strikeouts – 117

ERA – 3.27 [16]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 1

Midseason Snapshot: 10-3, ERA - 3.11, SO - 83 in 115.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 11 (in 9 IP) at Mil. Braves 5/26

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 8 IP) at San Francisco 9/30

Batting

PA – 73, AB – 69, R – 1, H – 5, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 2, SO – 28, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .072, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 2, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 36

Put Outs – 5

Assists – 31

Errors – 0

DP – 2

Pct. - 1.000

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Colt .45s went 66-96 to finish ninth in the NL, 27 games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. The pitching staff led the league in fewest complete games (30), fewest shutouts (9), and fewest walks (353). The Colt .45s stayed just a few games under .500 until midseason and were at 32-34 on June 21 following a four-game sweep of the Braves at Milwaukee , but the club floundered the rest of the way to settle into ninth place once again and finishing 13 games ahead of the NL’s other third-year team, the Mets. Farrell got off to a hot start and was 10-1 at the All-Star break. The club’s run production dropped off in the second half and Farrell went 1-7 the rest of the way.

Aftermath of 1964:

The club had a new name in 1965, the Astros, as well as a new home in the Astrodome. They remained a losing team and Farrell dropped to 11-11 with a 3.50 ERA. Appearing to have lost some zip on his fastball, the Astros entertained trade offers. While no longer a carouser, “Turk” was accused of throwing occasional spitballs. He remained with Houston in 1966, starting in just 21 of his 32 pitching appearances as he was relegated to the bullpen. His record was 6-10 with a 4.60 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 152.2 innings pitched. He also showed a propensity for giving up the long ball, surrendering 23 home runs. Farrell returned to the Phillies in May of 1967. Once again almost exclusively a reliever, he posted a 10-6 mark for the ’67 season along with 12 saves and a 2.34 ERA. He was at his best with the Phillies, combining with another veteran, Dick Hall, to solidify the bullpen. Farrell started off well in 1968 but slumped to end up at 4-6 with 12 saves and a 3.48 ERA in 54 appearances. Following a poor season in 1969 he was released, thus ending his major league career, although he tried to catch on with other teams over the next couple of seasons, seeing action in the Mexican League as well. For his major league career, Farrell compiled a 106-111 record with a 3.45 ERA, 41 complete games, 5 shutouts, 83 saves, and 1177 strikeouts over 1704.2 innings pitched. With Houston he went 53-64 with a 3.42 ERA, 41 complete games, 5 shutouts, 8 saves, and 694 strikeouts in 1015 innings pitched. He was a five-time All-Star. Following his retirement from baseball Farrell worked in the oil and gas industry until his death due to an auto accident in England at age 43 in 1977. Years later it was revealed that he was the biological father of Richard Dotson, who pitched primarily with the Chicago White Sox in the 1980s. A fiercely competitive power pitcher and off-field prankster, Farrell led a talented Houston pitching staff in the franchise’s early years.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.