Monty Fariss
From BR Bullpen
Monty Ted Fariss
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 180 lb.
- School Oklahoma State University
- Debut September 6, 1991
- Final Game June 1, 1993
- Born October 13, 1967 in Cordell, OK USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Monty Fariss played 104 games in the major leagues as an outfielder and second baseman.
Born in Oklahoma, he went to Oklahoma State University and showed increasing power each year that he played there. In 1986 he slugged .581, in 1987 he slugged .662, and in 1988 he slugged .860. He was a teammate there of Robin Ventura, who also went there from 1986-88. In the 1987 Intercontinental Cup, Fariss and Ventura were on the Silver Medal-winning USA. Monty struggled, going 1 for 14 with 3 walks; his lone hit was a homer and he fanned 6 times; the other two shortstops, Mickey Morandini and John Valentin, did better for the US. Fariss was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round in 1988, a few picks ahead of teammate Ventura. He continued the power by hitting 4 home runs in 17 games in the Pioneer League.
Thereafter, his numbers were not as impressive until a good 1990 season. In half a season with the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League, he posted .299/~.386/.496 and then at the Oklahoma City 89ers, home territory, in the American Association for half a year, he put up 302/~.397/.436.
He spent most of 1991 in Oklahoma City, posting .271/~.388/.449, and had his first chance in the majors. In 1992, he again played at Oklahoma City for 49 games hitting .299/~.402/.545, and spent most of the season at the major league level.
The Florida Marlins picked him up in the expansion draft, and he finished his career with them in 1993.
While Fariss hit only .217, there are some positive things to note. First, he was good at drawing walks, and had a .311 on-base percentage. That was higher than Dickie Thon, the shortstop for the 1992 Texas Rangers had, and it was higher than Ivan Rodriguez, the catcher for the team, had, and it was exactly the same as Dean Palmer, the third baseman for the team, had.
In addition, he made no errors in his 87 games in the field.
In 1996, he was on the screening committee that chose the next Oklahoma State University baseball coach.
As of 2001, he was running Monty Fariss Enterprises, which handled youth sports for several hundred teams, and he also ran a batting cage in Edmond, OK.
