Written by Scott Lauber at ESPN.com
John Farrell is out as manager of the Boston Red Sox.
After steering a relatively young team to the first back-to-back division titles in franchise history but also consecutive first-round playoff knockouts, Farrell will not return for the final year left on his contract, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced Wednesday.
In dumping Farrell now, Dombrowski agreed that the team needs a new voice in the clubhouse and a fresh public face. Despite another first-place American League East finish, the Red Sox grew increasingly unpopular this season. Prime-time television ratings on New England Sports Network dropped 15 percent below ratings last year, which was David Ortiz’s final season.
Within the past few days, ownership came around to the idea that Farrell was partly responsible. Farrell posted a 432-378 record over a roller-coaster five-year tenure that included a World Series championship in 2013 and two last-place finishes. He is the only Red Sox manager to win three American League East crowns and ranks sixth on the club’s all-time wins list.
But Farrell also became a punching bag for frustrated fans and talk-radio chatterboxes. While all managers get second-guessed for in-game moves that don’t pan out, Farrell came under greater scrutiny than many. Conspiracy theorists maintain that he would have gotten fired in 2015 had he not missed the final six weeks of the season to undergo cancer treatment.
This year, in particular, was challenging for Farrell. Regarded previously as a players’ manager, there was a perception that he lost respect from some veterans who doubted he had their back. Left-handed pitcher David Price, for one, seemed to treat Farrell with derision by calling him “Manager John.”
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