University of North Carolina Athletics
THB Q & A: Baseball's Sean Farrell
February 12, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 12, 2002
By Jeremy Hoffman
UNC Athletic Communications
Sean Farrell batted .327 with three home runs and 36 RBIs for Carolina in 2001. He was twice named ACC Player of the Week during his freshman season in 2000 when he hit nine home runs and drove in 44. Farrell recently sat down to talk with TarHeelBlue.com about the 2002 season and here is some of what he had to say:
TarHeelBlue: How do you feel your role on the team has changed over the past two seasons?
Sean Farrell: "As a freshman, I was just trying to get myself into the lineup and do whatever I could to help the team. My role that season was to drive in runs, but last year I didn't have the power I did the previous year so I took on more of a hustle and leadership role. This year, my power is back and I feel like I can be a key RBI guy. I'm just looking to be a key contributor and trying to motivate our team to go as far as we possibly can."
THB: Now that you've had two full seasons playing at the college level, what do you think is the biggest difference between high school and college baseball? What is the best advice you can give to a high school player looking to play in college?
Farrell: "The biggest difference is the time commitment. In high school, you practice maybe two and a half hours a day and its not nearly as strenuous. College baseball is more like a full-time job. You have to go to class and make good grades, but you still have to be able to perform every day on the baseball field. When you're playing a 56-game season, it's all about surviving the daily grind and being able to come out with a good attitude every day. The advice I would give is to play as much as possible, get yourself noticed, do whatever you can to make a good impression on the coaches and be prepared for the long haul."
THB: What does this year's team need to do in order to compete with consistently strong ACC teams like Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech and then possibly make it to the College World Series?
Farrell: "I think the one thing this team really needs to take into the season is an attitude. You play teams like Clemson and Florida State and they just have an attitude that they're not going to lose. Last year we were young and we kind of took our knocks, so we really didn't have that confidence or attitude. This year, we have a lot of experience coming back and we've built our confidence back up, so we just need to take the attitude in this season that nothing less than the ACC championship is acceptable."
THB: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now, if you're not playing baseball?
Farrell: "I'd like to have a family and be at a steady job doing something I enjoy. I'd like to stay involved and maybe I'll even be coaching a little league team."
THB: Rumor has it that you've created the 2002 Tar Heels on a video baseball game and that you're in the process of simulating a season. If real life turns out to be anything like a video game, what kind of numbers will Sean Farrell put up this season and how are the Tar Heels going to fare?
Farrell: "Well, Sean Farrell's on pace to set every record in the book. He's currently hitting .488 with six home runs through four games and the Heels are undefeated, looking to go 56-0. So hopefully this is a good indication of how our season is going to look."
