Boston Red Sox Agrees To Extension With John Farrell; Manager Says David Ortiz Will Abide By MLB Rules

The Boston Red Sox extended manager John Farrell’s contract through the 2017 season with a club option for 2018. Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.

Although David Ortiz does not like baseball’s new rules governing pace of play, he will abide by them.

“I think he’ll adhere to the rules,” Farrell said. “Any time that we’re going through some subtle changes or some adjustments to the pace of game or instant replay, there’s going to be some growing pains. We fully anticipate that. I think it’s important that we all give this a chance to come to fruition a little bit and see how it may or may not affect the flow of a game or a individual routine at the plate. That’s what’s important here: There’s a personal routine at the plate or on the mound that is part of the natural flow of a game. Some might consider that flow slow. But that’s important that it’s preserved because that’s what puts a player, a hitter or pitcher, in the right frame of mind to execute what he’s trying to get done.”

Farrell, 52, is entering his third season as manager of the Red Sox. He became the 46th manager in Red Sox history in October 2012 after being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays. Farrell has led the Red Sox to a combined 168-156 (.519) record and the 2013 World Series Championship.

Farrell is not concerned that MLB will target Ortiz because of his critical comments.

“No, not at all,” Farrell said. “The one thing David has done is he’s an All-Star player, he’s a guy that is about playing the game the right way. I don’t think he’s putting a target on his back. He spoke his mind. That’s where we don’t want to make this too much of an issue. I think it’ll end up being a subtlety inside the game.”

Farrell finished second in 2013 AL Manager of the Year voting and was named AL Manager of the Year by the Sporting News after guiding Boston to a 97-65 record, tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the best mark in baseball. The Red Sox took first place in the AL East and went on to win 11 of 16 postseason games in securing the Fall Classic.

In four years as a major league manager for the Blue Jays (2011-12) and Red Sox (2013-14), Farrell has a career record of 322-326 (.497). In 116 major league games (109 starts) over an eight-year pitching career with the Indians (1987-90, 1995), Angels (1993-94), and Tigers (1996), Farrell went 36-46 with a 4.56 ERA. In his first three seasons, the right-hander was 28-25 with a 3.86 ERA and 12 complete games.

Before his stint as Red Sox pitching coach, Farrell spent five years as Director of Player Development for the Indians from November 2001-November 2006, overseeing one of the best farm systems in baseball. Following his playing career, he returned to Oklahoma State, earned his bachelor’s in 1996, and served five seasons (1997-2001) as an assistant coach and pitching and recruiting coordinator.

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Boston Red Sox Agrees To Extension With John Farrell; Manager Says David Ortiz Will Abide By MLB Rules