Mark Farris

Mark Allen Farris

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.
• School Texas A&M University
• High School Angleton High School

• Born February 9, 1975 in Angleton, TX USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Mark Farris was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 1994 amateur draft. A shortstop, he was drafted one spot ahead of Nomar Garciaparra. Farris had batted .484 as a high school senior and he signed for $820,000. He was one of many "tools" picks out of high school by the Pirates during this era, including Mark Merchant, Chad Hermansen, Charles Peterson, J.J. Davis and Austin Manahan. None panned out.

Farris began his professional career by hitting .287/.371/.360 for the Welland Pirates (fielding .905 at short), then only managed a .122/.173/.184 line with the Augusta GreenJackets (two errors in four games in the field). Baseball America rated him the #6 prospect in the New York-Penn League. Mark injured his knee and missed the entire '95 season. He returned in the Hawaii Winter League but struggled significantly.

In 1996, Mark returned to action, hitting only .217/~.291/.271 with Augusta as the regular third baseman. '97 led him to the Lynchburg Hillcats, where his batting line was .232/~.282/.327 and he moved to first base, where his bat was clear inadequate - Carolina League MVP Aramis Ramirez was at third base and forced him to switch his positions again.

Farris finished his professional baseball career in 1998 bybatting a respectable .273/~.341/.375 with the AA Carolina Mudcats and moving back to third base primarily, but only fielding .905 there; Ramirez had jumped past him to AAA.

Early in 1999, Mark decided to leave baseball and go to college, where he played quarterback for Texas A&M. He had two 2,000-yard passing seasons and finished as the college's all-time leader in percentage completed. It appears that he has since opened an insurance agency in Angleton, TX.

Sources include: 1995-1999 Baseball Almanacs, 1995 Baseball Guide, Pittsburgh Pirates unofficial e-mail list, Texas A&M website