Mariners bring back inspirational former player as coach

The Seattle Mariners are reuniting with one of baseball’s best stories of perseverance.

Seattle announced this week that they have hired retired ex-MLB pitcher Danny Farquhar. The 36-year-old Farquhar will be serving as a pitching strategist and assistant pitching coach on Seattle’s Major League staff.

A right-handed relief pitcher, Farquhar played seven MLB seasons from 2011-18. Along with the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago White Sox, Farquhar pitched for the Mariners (from 2013-15). But his pro career came to an abrupt end when Farquhar suffered a brain hemorrhage during a game in Apr. 2018 and nearly lost his life.

Farquhar would go on to make a full recovery though and was even throwing again just a couple months later. He never made it back to the bigs however, announcing his retirement in 2019 following a brief stint pitching for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees).

Since retiring, Farquhar went into coaching and spent the 2023 season as pitching coach of the Birmingham Barons (Double-A affiliate of the White Sox). Now Farquhar has made his way onto a major league coaching staff, and it has to feel great for the Mariners to have him back.