Ed Farmer

Edward Joseph Farmer (October 18, 1949 – April 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight different teams, predominantly in the American League, between 1971 and 1983. The team he played the most games for was the Chicago White Sox, including one All-Star Game appearance. After his retirement as a player, he spent nearly 30 years as a White Sox radio broadcaster.

Baseball career Farmer had limited success during the first part of his career; however, his fortunes changed dramatically following a mid-career injury. He re-invented himself while toiling for three-plus years, spent mostly in the minor leagues. This led to his best seasons, 1979 to 1981 with the Chicago White Sox, during which he recorded 54 of his 75 career saves.

Early career Farmer was a 1967 graduate of St. Rita High School on the southwest side of Chicago. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 1967 MLB draft, and played in their farm system from 1967 into the 1973 season, while making 105 major league appearances with the Indians during parts of the 1971–1973 seasons.

In June 1973, Farmer was traded to the Detroit Tigers, in exchange for pitcher Tom Timmermann and infielder Kevin Collins. He appeared in 14 games for Philadelphia through the end of the 1974 season. causing him to miss 21 games. At the start of the same game, Farmer had also hit Royals second baseman Frank White and broke his wrist, which kept him sidelined for a month.

White Sox years The White Sox acquired Farmer and Holle from the Rangers on June 15, 1979, in exchange for third baseman Eric Soderholm. While Farmer watched his infielders make the play, Cowens ran to the mound rather than first base, and tackled the pitcher from behind, landing several punches before the benches cleared and the two were separated. Later, Farmer agreed to drop the charges in exchange for a handshake‚ and the two players brought out the lineup cards before a game in Detroit on September 1, and shook hands. A later appearance by Cowens at Comiskey Park was greeted by fans with a "Coward Cowens" banner.

In 1980, Farmer was selected to play in the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. He faced three batters, recording the final two outs of the sixth inning when he got Pete Rose to ground into a double play. Farmer compiled 18 saves prior to the break, and finished the season with career highs in saves (30) and wins (7). After spending the 1981 season with the White Sox, registering three wins and 10 saves, and briefly had a White Sox front office role.

In 1991, Farmer took a part-time role on White Sox radio broadcasts, then was a full-time color commentator from 1992 to 2005. In 2006, he took over play-by-play from John Rooney, and served in that role through the 2019 season, with broadcast partners Chris Singleton (2006–2007), Steve Stone (2008), and Darrin Jackson (2009–2019). Farmer served a total of 29 seasons as a White Sox broadcaster; 28 of them full-time, and 14 giving play-by-play.

During his life, Farmer suffered with polycystic kidney disease, that forced him to get a kidney transplant in 1991. He additionally advocated for people with kidney diseases. He was the board director of the Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Foundation, and he spoke to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 about polycystic kidney disease. Alongside Jesse White, Farmer contributed to the development of the Illinois' organ donation program.

He died on April 1, 2020, at the age of 70. His final broadcast had been a Cactus League game during White Sox spring training in February 2020.