After five years of near constant scrutiny, which never went away despite three division titles and a World Series, John Farrell is out as Red Sox manager. He was fired on Wednesday, two days after the Red Sox lost in the division series for the second year in a row. The decision was actually made on Tuesday after a meeting with the baseball ops staff, but Dombrowski spoke with the team’s ownership group before calling Farrell to inform him. The process of finding a new manager has already begun.
Farrell took over the helm of the Red Sox in 2013 after Bobby Valentine‘s disastrous 2012 season. In his first year, propelled by the emotion of the Boston Marathon bombing and the indomitable will of David Ortiz, Farrell led Boston to an AL East crown and its third World Series title this century. Farrell thanked the front office for standing by him after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, which forced him to take a short leave of absence toward the end of that season.
Dave Dombrowski, the club's president of baseball operations, expressed his gratitude to in a press conference Wednesday. Though he did not get into any details about the decision, Dombrowski said the manager's tenure had run its course.
Farrell, a former pitcher who served as Boston’s pitching coach from 2007-2010, recorded a 432-378 record in five seasons as Red Sox manager. The team extended Farrell's contract through this season in 2014, including a club option for 2018 in the deal. The Red Sox picked up the option before the start of this season.
