Oklahoma State University Athletics
From Stillwater To Beantown
November 20, 2014 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State's baseball history is rich in tradition and accolades.
One of the most impressive claims the program can make is that two former Cowboy players are currently Major League Baseball managers — Robin Ventura and John Farrell.
Ventura has skippered the Chicago White Sox for three years, while Farrell just completed his second season leading the Boston Red Sox after two years as the manger of the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I'm really proud now as I get to sit here as the head coach to get to tell people about what those guys are doing in Major League Baseball and sell families and recruits on their leadership skill and what Oklahoma State guys are off doing with their careers,” said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. “It's an impressive thing to be able to talk about OSU baseball alumni holding down two of 30 positions as (MLB) managers —that's just an awesome deal.”
Farrell pitched on four College World Series teams at OSU from 1981-84. Along the way, he racked up 20 wins, a program-record six shutouts and plenty of memories.
“You always remember some of the firsts, and I can remember my first college game at Couch Park, the first game when we opened Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, the first Big Eight Tournament, the first Regional at Oral Roberts with Southern Illinois, San Diego State and ORU that we went up against to get to Omaha – those were all memorable experiences,” Farrell said. “And then pitching in front of 20,000-plus people in Rosenblatt Stadium, that was something I had never been exposed to.”
Following his OSU playing career, Farrell spent eight seasons pitching in the big leagues for the Indians, Angels and Tigers before he returned to Stillwater to finish his degree and join the Cowboy coaching staff.
Farrell would once again leave Stillwater for pro baseball, and he's been successful every step of the way, from the front office to pitching coach to manager.
Current Cowboy pitching coach Rob Walton was Farrell's teammate and roommate at OSU and said it's easy to see why he has had success at every level of the game.
“John probably could have gone several ways — he's very smart, thinks the game through, he's a good communicator,” Walton said. “Manager, pitching coach, he could have fit in the front office as easily as he could have on the field — he's a little bit unique that way. You have to have a level of feel for the game, intelligence and ability to communicate, and those are John's strengths.
“It's not a surprise that one, he stayed in the game, and two, he's very successful.”
The pinnacle of that success came in 2013 when Farrell led Boston to a World Series title in his first season as manager.
“People trust him with an amazing amount of responsibility to lead the Boston Red Sox,” Holliday said. “That's one of the more visible positions of leadership in sport, whether it's football, baseball, basketball. There are not many that are in the spotlight like the Red Sox. It just tells you about his leadership skills that he could go in and work in such a big environment and still maintain a very classy position of trust with his players.
“I'm not at all surprised by the success he's had. He's got a very, very strong, stable personality that you grow to admire and appreciate, and it's been a lot of fun seeing him being a part of some awesome stuff.”
And Farrell has enjoyed watching the resurgence of Cowboy baseball under Walton and Holliday, whom he coached as a player and also coached alongside on the OSU staff.
“I think it's great that there are alumni back overseeing the program and bringing it back into some prominence,” Farrell said. “Having lived that role, it's an easy sell. When you go to recruit, you can speak from the heart rather than trying to artificially sell something.
“The program is in great shape with both those guys (Holliday and Walton) there.”
Though he may be over 1,600 miles away in Boston, Farrell continues to maintain his loyalty to the OSU Cowboy family.
“John has always been accessible and really gracious with his time for OSU people,” Holliday said. “For Cowboy baseball and all the OSU fans that feel like they know him, I think it's pretty neat for OSU people to be able to watch the Boston Red Sox and feel like they're a little closer to that team because they know John — he just has that affect on people.
“He contributed as a player and a coach here, and he continues to contribute even now, even though he's working at a distance, to the overall image and value of this program. We're really proud to call him a Cowboy.”
