John Farrell didn’t exactly expect to get fired, especially after guiding the Boston Red Sox to their second consecutive American League East championship.
But Farrell admitted Monday there was a point in the 2017 season where he started to see the writing on the wall.
“As the season wore on and we got down to the final weeks, maybe there was a little bit of a gut feeling, that you know what, this might be taking place, and it did,” Farrell said Monday morning in an ESPN conference call, via The Boston Globe. “So, I wish Alex Cora and everybody else going forward the best.”
Farrell’s “gut feeling” proved correct on Oct. 11, when the Red Sox relieved him of his duties as manager after five seasons at Boston’s helm. About two weeks later, the Sox hired Cora as his replacement.
While Farrell’s Red Sox won 93 games in each of the last two seasons, there were signs a managerial change could be coming. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia admitted Farrell’s approach would “wear on” some of the players, and there did appear to be a leadership void in the wake of David Ortiz’s departure.
Boston also fell woefully short in its last two postseason appearances, going a combined 1-6 in American League Division Series losses to the Cleveland Indians (2016) and Houston Astros (2017).
Of course, Farrell still wasn’t totally prepared for losing his job.
“If you finished in first place last year, you were twice as likely to be fired as if you finished in last place,” Farrell added. “From that perspective, yes, a little bit of a surprise a change was made, but I do know that (Red Sox president of baseball operations) Dave (Dombrowski) came in and he inherited me, so he felt there was change needed because we made quick exits two years consecutively after winning the division both years and going to the postseason.”
The 55-year-old won’t be idle this season, though: He’ll work with the Cincinnati Reds as a scout while also serving as a studio analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” show. Farrell said the Reds role is “more focused on pitching” and will involve giving “input” and recommendations” to the team about the young pitchers in its farm system.
