"The free-agent signee returns for his second season with the Yankees after adequately replacing all-time saves leader Dave Righetti in his first year. Farr recorded a career-high 23 saves in 29 chances and now has a career total of 73 saves. He's a rugged competitor who insisted on pitching the final month despite a sore shoulder.
Farr makes up in finesse what he lacks in velocity. He works the corners extremely well and helps himself greatly by pitching inside. He allowed only seven of 30 inherited runners to score and retired the first batter he faced on 39 of 60 occasions. Farr limited right-handed hitters to a .204 average.
Born in Cheverly, Maryland, Farr began his career as an undrafted free agent with the Pirates and pitched seven-plus seasons in the minors before breaking in with Cleveland in 1984."
-Tony DeMarco and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1992 Edition
"As the last line of defense, there were few better relievers to rely on last season than Steve Farr.
Known as the 'Beast' from his days as a Kansas City Royal, the right-handed reliever was the consummate closer. Farr was one of four Yankee relievers to appear in 60 or more games and his 23 saves were a career high. They were also the most for a Yankee right-hander since Goose Gossage saved 30 in 1982.
Farr's reputation as a fierce competitor was in evidence the entire season. With inflammation in his pitching shoulder the final month of the '91 season, the reliever could have packed it in and gone home. But instead, he played.
'I understand the big picture. They have six million dollars invested in me. But I was here to play six months and I wanted to play the last month of the season,' Farr says.
Some numbers from the '91 season indicate his true measure of success: opponents' batting average was just .219 ... he allowed one homer on the road all season ... he had a scoreless-innings streak of 28 innings, longest of his career.
Sometimes numbers speak for themselves."
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"Steve appeared exclusively in relief in 1991, assuming the role of closer.
He pitched in seven games in April and was 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA with one save in as many chances. His first save as a Yankee came on April 13 at Kansas City as he pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in a 9-8 win. He finished the month with three scoreless outings lowering his ERA from a season high of 5.68 on April 22 to 3.72.
Steve appeared in 11 games in May and posted a 2-0 record with a 1.98 ERA and one save in three opportunities. On May 10 he saved a 5-3 victory over Oakland, ending the Yankees' 16-game losing streak against the Athletics. Farr earned his first win as a Yankee in his next outing, on May 12 against Oakland (1.2 IP, 3 K).
June was his most successful month, with Farr not allowing a run in 12 appearances while posting eight saves. He had saves in his first four games of the month (June 2-9). His longest outing to date came on June 16 at Texas (3.0 IP) in a 4-3 loss. Steve earned saves in his final three appearances of the month (June 25-30). He started June with a 2.70 ERA and ended at 1.67.
Steve saved consecutive games on July 2 and 3 against Cleveland and pitched a scoreless inning on July 6 against Baltimore. At the break he was 2-1 with 12 saves (14 opportunities) and a 1.56 ERA.
He continued his scoreless streak in July, as he did not allow a run in nine outings. Steve saved a pair for Jeff Johnson on July 13 at California and July 19 at Oakland. He saved six games in the month and through July had 16 saves in 18 chances. He lowered his ERA from 1.67 at the start of July to 1.36 at the month's end.
August was Farr's worst month of the season (1-3, one save, 6.75 ERA). He had a scoreless streak of 28.0 innings snapped on August 4 at Detroit when Tony Phillips hit a solo homer with two out in the 9th inning; it was the only road homer he allowed all year. Steve rebounded in September, not allowing a run in nine appearances (9.0 IP). He set a career high in saves with this 21st on September 27 at Cleveland. After the break, he was 3-4 with 11 saves in 15 situations and a 3.03 ERA in 27 appearances.
In 1991 Steve was part of a quarter of Yankee relievers (along with Cadaret, Guetterman and Habyan) who each notched 60-plus appearances, the first time more than two Yankee relievers had accomplished the feat in one season. He averaged 1.1 innings per outing.
Farr set a career high with 23 saves (10th in the AL) in 29 opportunities. His previous best was 20 in 1988. It was also the most by a Yankee right-handed pitcher since Rich Gossage had 30 in 1982. Farr's save total ranked 19th on the all-time Yankee list. Over the 1989-91 seasons, he converted 62 of 78 (79%) save opportunities.
Opponents hit .219 against Farr. Right-handed batters hit .201 with two homers, left-handers hit .241 with two homers. He was 3-3 with 12 saves and a 2.56 ERA at home, 2-2 with 11 saves and a 1.72 ERA on the road. Steve had 12 appearances of more than one inning (27.1 IP) with a 3.29 ERA. He pitched one inning or less in 48 games (42.2 IP), with a 1.48 ERA. He finished 48 games, 10th in the AL.
Steve had a scoreless string of 28.0 innings, the longest of his career. It was the longest by a Yankee in '91 and the longest overall since Lee Guetterman's record-setting 30.2 to start the 1989 season. Steve's covered 24 games, starting May 29, and during the streak he allowed only 11 hits and one extra-base hit while walking only two, striking out 21 and recording 14 saves.
He signed a three-year contract with the Yankees as a free agent in November 1990. The contract extends through the 1993 season.
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. 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) as opposed to 39 appearances of 2.0 innings or less in which he had a 2.83 ERA (54.0 IP).
Farr 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. His July 3 start against the Yankees resulted in a win. He had a stretch after the break 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 (9.0 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 fourth most in their club history behind Dan Quisenberry, Doug Bird and Jeff Montgomery.
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. 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. He finished 35 of the first 37 outings in which he appeared, none commencing earlier than the eighth inning.
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 spent time on the disabled list as he was placed on the 15-day DL on August 23 (retroactive to 8/21) with torn cartilage in his right knee. 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, his first full season in the majors, 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 joined the Pirates organization when he was signed as a free agent in December 1976. From 1977 through 1982 he pitched for five different clubs in the Pittsburgh farm system, appearing in 142 games, and was 35-39 with 11 saves and a 4.28 ERA. Of those 142 games, 76 were as a starter. Steve had an amazing 23 complete games, 36% of his starts.
He spent the 1983 season with the Pirates ' AA club Buffalo of the Eastern League while being traded to the Cleveland organization on June 8 for catcher John Malkin. 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.
Steve started the 1984 season with Cleveland's AAA club at Maine, going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over six starts. He 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 enjoys cars and credits Jamie Quirk with helping his career."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
