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Consistency
The Sporting News, June 9, 1923
CONSISTENT O'FARRELL EXCELLING AGAIN
Year After Year, Sox' Second Baseman At Top of Game
BOSTON--He is thirty-five years old, with fifteen full major league seasons under his belt. However, that belt has not been taken out more than one notch, and if he has lost more than a single step, nobody has noticed it yet. A fixture at second base for the Boston Red Sox since 1908, Pat O'Farrell is perhaps a more valuable player now than he has been at any time in his career. The Red Sox agree, as he has sparked them to a return to the top of the standings as May turns to June.
Pat has perhaps adjusted to the changes in the game of baseball more easily than any veteran star. "There is a greater emphasis on hitting for power than there was a few years ago. I have tried not to change the way I approach at the plate too much, but I confess I am taking more big cuts at the ball than I did before," Pat confesses with a sparkle in his eye. Indeed, after never having hit more than nine home runs in a single season, beginning in 1920 Pat has increased his total each year. He put 17 over the fences in 1922, and with seven homers, he is ahead of that pace this season.
At the same time, however, O'Farrell has not abandoned the "old-time" strategy of stealing bases. Pat has stolen at least 70 bags in every season since 1914, and again, he has increased his production in his thirties. His league-leading total of 86 steals was his lowest output since 1919. "I have taken good care of myself, and I have been fortunate enough not to have had any leg injuries in several years, so I can still run," he explained. The mastery of the art of base stealing that he has acquired over the years has apparently more than made up for any speed he has lost. With forty steals, he once again leads the major leagues, and he has only been thrown out five times attempting to steal.
O'Farrell is running second in the American League batting race, with a .372 mark that is thirteen points below Jack Lelivelt's pace-setting figure. He has pounded fourteen doubles and eight triples, both ranking him among the league's best. Here, too, his production is at least as high as at any point in his career, and as the seasons roll by, Pat finds his name rising steadily up the all-time lists in many categories.
With his fourth triple of the season, he passed Sam Crawford and became the career leader in this category, and he entered the season with more walks and steals than anyone who ever played the game. Among players still active, only two men have made more base hits and hit more home runs; he is second among those still active in runs batted in, runs scored, and doubles. It is quite likely that he will improve upon these positions in the years to come, too.
"I still enjoy playing the game as much as ever," O'Farrell said with a smile. "I watch what I eat, and remain active during the winter months. I have no plans to retire anytime soon."
More than a few American League pitchers undoubtedly wish O'Farrell would reconsider that statement.
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