Bob Farley
Encyclopedia
Robert Jacob Farley (born November 15, 1937, at Watsontown, Pennsylvania
Watsontown, Pennsylvania
Watsontown is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,255 at the 2000 census. It was named for John Watson, a local landowner.-Geography:Watsontown is located at ....
) is a retired American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
player. He was a first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
and outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
who played part of and all of in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
for the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
and Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. Farley threw and batted left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
, stood 6 in 2 in (1.88 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (90.7 kg).
Farley first came to the Majors with the Giants in 1961
1961 San Francisco Giants season
- Regular season :Willie Mays had both a three home run game and a four home run game during the 1961 season. Mays became the ninth player, and first Giant, in MLB history to hit four home runs in one game.- Opening Day starters :...
, appearing with them in a total of 13 games before the mid-May cutdown date and after the post-September 1 roster expansion. He batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
only .100 with two singles
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
in 20 at bats, but in between fashioned his best minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
season, hitting .307 with 20 home runs for the Triple-A Tacoma Giants
Tacoma Rainiers
The Tacoma Rainiers are a minor league baseball team that plays in the Pacific Coast League , and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners...
. That November he was included in the multi-player interleague trade with the White Sox that brought veteran left-handed starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
Billy Pierce
Billy Pierce
Walter William Pierce is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team's star pitcher between 1952 and 1961, and was named the American League's top pitcher in 1956 and 1957 after being runner-up in both 1953...
to San Francisco. Pierce would help lead the 1962 Giants
1962 San Francisco Giants season
The 1962 San Francisco Giants season saw the Giants finish in first place in the National League with a record of 103 wins and 62 losses. They finished the season tied with their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for first place in the league, necessitating a three-game tiebreaker playoff to...
to the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
championship by winning 16 games.
Farley, meanwhile, spent all of 1962 in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
and continued to struggle at the plate. After batting only .189 with the White Sox, he was traded to the Tigers in June for veteran outfielder Charlie Maxwell
Charlie Maxwell
Charles Richard Maxwell , nicknamed "Smokey," "Paw Paw," , "Sunday Punch" and "Sunday Charlie," is a former professional baseball outfielder...
. The change of scenery didn't help, as Farley hit only .160 for Detroit. He played the final three seasons of his professional career in the minors, retiring after the 1965 campaign.
All told, Bob Farley appeared in 84 MLB games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
, batted 123 times and notched 20 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, including three doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, one triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and two home runs.