CHICAGO (NEWS RELEASE) (WLS) -- The Chicago White Sox will honor pitcher Danny Farquhar, welcoming him back to throw a ceremonial first pitch on Friday, June 1 vs. Milwaukee. It will be Farquhar's first time stepping to the mound since he suffered a brain hemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm during a home game on April 20 vs. Houston.
Farquhar, 31, will be joined by his wife Lexie and his children, Madison, Landon and Liam, as White Sox fans and the team welcome him back to the ballpark. The RUSH University Medical Center team, including doctors, nurses and staff who helped care for him during his recovery, also will be in attendance for the first pitch.
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In celebration of Danny's recovery and the Farquhar family, Chicago White Sox Charities (CWSC) will donate proceeds from all fundraising efforts that evening, including the Sox Split raffle, game auction and scoreboard message purchases, to the Joe Niekro Foundation, an organization committed to supporting patients and families, research, treatment and awareness of brain aneurysms. The organization was founded by Natalie Niekro, the daughter of right-handed pitcher Joe Niekro who spent 21 seasons in Major League Baseball and passed away suddenly in 2006 as the result of a brain aneurysm. Fans at home can support the fundraising effort by purchasing Sox Split raffle tickets online at whitesox.com/soxsplit.
Farquhar has been recovering at home in Chicago since his release from RUSH University Medical Center on May 7. Dr. Demetrius Lopes, Farquhar's neurosurgeon, expects Farquhar to be able to pitch again in the future, but will not medically release him to pitch in a competitive game during the 2018 season in order to allow him to fully recover from the brain hemorrhage.
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The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Farquhar has gone 3-1 with a 4.84 ERA (12 ER/22.0 IP), six holds, 21 strikeouts and a .210 (17-81) opponents average over 23 relief appearances since signing with the White Sox as a minor-league free agent on July 24, 2017.
The Pembroke Pines, Florida native has spent parts of seven major-league seasons in the major leagues with Toronto (2011), Seattle (2012-15), Tampa Bay (2016-17) and the White Sox (2017-18), going 10-15 with a 3.93 ERA (119 ER/272.1 IP), 18 saves, 45 holds, 309 strikeouts and .234 (237-1,012) opponents average over 253 career outings. He originally was selected by the Blue Jays in the 10th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.