"Farr enjoyed a career year as a Royal relief pitcher and, as a free agent, turned it into a three-year, $6.3 million contract. He posted personal bests in record, ERA, innings and strikeouts and his 13 wins topped the club. Fifty-one of his 57 appearances were in relief. He had only one save. As a starter, Farr won five games and posted a 1.51 ERA- he threw his first career complete game and shutout on September 23 against California. He was the Royals' Pitcher of the Month in September.
Born in Cheverly, Maryland, he pitched seven and a half seasons in the minors before breaking in with Cleveland in 1984. He was signed by the Royals as a free agent in 1985."
-John Shea and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1991 Edition
"On first appearance, Steve Farr, a fireplug of a pitcher, elicits an attitude most pitchers would find quite helpful. The right-hander can be downright intimidating, and his fierce, competitive nature has become legendary.
Selected by the Kansas City Royals as their pitcher of the year last season, Farr, also known as 'The Beast,' works as either reliever or starter.
In addition to his career-high 13 wins in 1990, the 34-year-old worked 127 innings while collecting a minuscule 1.98 ERA. Farr is not concerned with being labeled a starter or reliever, he just wants the ball regardless of the circumstances.
'I like to do a little bit of everything,' Farr says. 'I like getting saves or being out there when the game is on the line.' "
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"A member of the Kansas City Royals in 1990, Steve had perhaps his finest season in the majors, posting a 13-7 record with a save and a 1.98 ERA over 57 appearances (second most on the club), including six starts. He led the club in wins, and his wins, ERA, innings (127.0) and strikeouts (94) were all career bests. Opponents hit .220 against Steve.
He was 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA as a starter and 8-6 with a save and 2.19 in relief. He was used in save situations only twice all year and his one save came on August 9 against Chicago (2.2 IP, 0 R). Of his relief appearances, Steve had 12 of more than 2.0 innings and had a 1.21 ERA in such games (37.1 IP, 5 ER) as opposed to 39 appearances of 2.0 innings or less in which he had a 2.83 ERA (54.0 IP, 7 ER).
Farr made seven appearances from June 10-July 3 of which three were starts. He made his first start on June 10 at Oakland and took the loss (5.0 IP, 3 ER); the start was his first since making two starts in his final two 1989 appearances. Steve's other starts in that period resulted in wins on June 19 against Seattle and on July 3 against the Yankees. He had a stretch from July 13-August 26 where over 16 games he allowed just five earned runs over 38.0 innings pitched for a 1.18 ERA, lowering his overall ERA from 2.51 to 1.98.
His other three starts were his final games of the season (September 17-29) and all three resulted in wins. Included was a complete game shutout against California on September 23 (9 IP, 5 H)- the complete game and the shutout were both career firsts. Overall in those three starts Steve allowed just one earned run (a Larry Parrish homer in the final outing) over 21.1 innings, lowering his ERA from 2.30 to a season ending 1.98.
Steve was 9-2, 1.37 in 37 games at Royals Stadium; 4-5, 2.64 on the road; 11-3, 1.63 at night, and 2-4, 2.64 in day games. His 49 career saves as a Royal are third most in their club history behind Dan Quisenberry and Doug Bird. Over the 1988-90 seasons, Farr was successful in 39 of 49 (80%) save situations.
He signed a three-year contract with the Yankees as a free agent in November 1990. The contract extends through the 1993 season.
In 1989, Farr was 2-5 with 18 saves and a 4.12 ERA over 51 games, including two starts in his final two appearances of the season. The 18 saves tied Jeff Montgomery for the club lead, with eight coming in one-run games and seven in two-run games.
Of his 49 relief appearances, he started the inning 41 times. Overall, he was successful in 18 of 22 save situations. All four blown saves came as a result of having allowed a home run.
Steve opened the season as the bullpen closer and was successful in each of his first ten save situations. Through his first 26 outings he had 15 saves and a 1.95 ERA. Included was a stretch from June 15-July 22 where he struck out at least one batter (15 total) in 12 straight games. Steve's only relief win came on July 30 against Baltimore (2.0 IP). He finished 35 of the first 37 outings in which he appeared, none commencing earlier than the eighth inning.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair his knee and was activated on September 13. Farr started on September 24 against Seattle, only his second start since 1985, and picked up the win (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER). In his two starts he posted a 1.50 ERA (12.0 IP, 2 ER), fanning 10 batters along the way.
In 1988, Farr established himself as the Royals' closer in the pen. He led the staff, and established a personal best, by appearing in 62 games, eighth best in Royal history. He did not register his first save until May 16, yet finished with 20 saves to tie for seventh best in club history. Steve was successful in 20 of 25 save situations.
Steve was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates in December 1976. He spent the 1983 season with AA Buffalo of the Eastern League, where he was 13-1 with a league leading 1.61 ERA. Steve was named to Baseball America's Class AA and Eastern League all-star teams.
He began the 1984 season with Cleveland's AAA club at Maine, going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over six starts. Steve earned a promotion to the Indians on May 14, appearing in 31 games (16 starts) for the Tribe. He was 3-11 with a 4.58 ERA.
In 1985, Steve was signed as a free agent by the Royals on May 9. He started his season at Omaha and pitched brilliantly, posting a 10-4 record with a league leading 2.02 ERA over 17 games (16 starts). He led Omaha in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts.
Steve made his first appearance in a Kansas City uniform on August 8 as a starter against Detroit and was not involved in the decision in a 6-4 Royal win. He picked up his first win as a Royal on September 6 against Milwaukee in a 7-1 Kansas City win- the victory marked Steve's first major league win since August 13, 1984. He notched his first save as a Royal on September 25 at Seattle.
He appeared in two games in the American League Championship Series, both in relief. He hurled 4.1 innings of 2-hit ball in relief in Game 3, picking up Kansas City's first win in the ALCS. He did not pitch in the World Series.
1986 was the first full season in the majors for Steve and he established his mark as an effective reliever. He tied for second on the club with 56 games pitched and posted the club's second best ERA (3.13). He was 7-0 with four saves and 2.23 ERA at Royals Stadium.
Steve was named the Royals' pitcher of the month for both May and June. He did not pitch after September 16 because of a sore shoulder.
He spent most of the 1987 season in the bullpen, appearing in 47 games which tied him for second most on the club. He had a then career high 88 strikeouts which also led the bullpen. He had two brief stints at Omaha: from July 31-August 13 and from August 30-September 4.
Steve graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He was a catcher and pitcher at DeMatha, lettering in baseball. He attended Charles County Community College (LaPlata, MD) and American University (Washington, DC). Steve went to American U. on a scholarship and played baseball at both schools.
Steve played Babe Ruth and American Legion ball as a youngster. He helped his team to the 1972 Babe Ruth World Series, held in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Steve credits Jamie Quirk with helping his career."
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
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