John Edward Farrell is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and the current manager of the Boston Red Sox. Farrell served as the Red Sox pitching coach from 2007 to 2010, before leaving to be manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2011 to 2012. He returned to the Red Sox in 2013 and led them to a World Series title that year. During his playing career, Farrell was a member of the Cleveland Indians, California Angels and Detroit Tigers. John Farrell and his wife Sue have three sons, all of whom were selected in the MLB Draft.

Farrell was diagnosed with stage 1 lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system) in August 2015 and left the team to undergo treatment, with bench coach Torey Lovullo assuming his duties for the remainder of the 2015 season. On October 22, 2015, the Red Sox announced that Farrell's cancer was in remission.

Upon graduating from high school in 1980, Farrell was drafted by the Oakland Athletics, but he did not sign. Four years later, after graduating from college, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the 1984 Draft. He made his major league debut with the Indians on August 18, 1987, playing for them until the 1990 season.

Farrell enjoyed success as part of the Cleveland starting rotation, but injuries to his right elbow caused him to miss the entire 1991 and 1992 seasons. He returned to action with the California Angels (1993–94), again with Cleveland (1995), and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers (1996).

In 1997, Farrell joined his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, as assistant coach and pitching and recruiting coordinator. He remained with the college through 2001.

From November 2001 through the end of the 2006 season, Farrell served as the director of player development for the Cleveland Indians. In 2003 and 2004, the Indians were named MLB Organization of the Year by USA Today's Sports Weekly. In 2003, they were also named as having the top farm system in professional baseball by Baseball America.

Following the 2006 season, the Boston Red Sox hired Farrell as its new pitching coach, replacing Dave Wallace. Farrell rejoined Red Sox manager Terry Francona, as they had been teammates together on the Indians.

On October 20, 2012, it was reported that Farrell had asked to be allowed to interview for the manager position with the Boston Red Sox. The next day the Blue Jays officially confirmed Farrell had accepted the manager position with Boston.

Farrell was diagnosed with stage 1 lymphoma in August 2015. In announcing his diagnosis, Farrell indicated that he would begin chemotherapy later that month, and that bench coach Torey Lovullo would manage the Red Sox for the rest of the 2015 season. The cancer was discovered when Farrell underwent surgery for a hernia, and Farrell described his cancer as being localized because it was discovered early, and indicated that his treatment would take approximately nine weeks. He also stated that he planned to resume his managerial duties for the 2016 season.

Cancer, Cancer Survivor, Baseball, MLB, Athlete, Sports, Sports Management, Boston, MA, Sports Coaching