Mike Ford has turned it on.
Where Mike Ford ranks around the league since the beginning of the west coast trip:
5 HR (4th)
.417 AVG (8th)
1.125 SLG (1st)
1.584 OPS (1st)
298 wRC+ (1st)— Hoodie Joe Randazzo (Bronx Pinstripes writer) (@deflategator) August 29, 2019
Mike Ford has been steady at the plate over the year but has been on fire the last couple of games. Ford did not play in the first game of the road trip, against Oakland, but did in the second game, where he would be the Designated Hitter. He then goes on to hit a solo shot, and have two more hits. Ford went 0 for three in the final game of the Oakland series.
Ford did not start the first game of the series against the Dodgers, but pinch hit for Tommy Kahnle, and got a hit and scored a run in his only at-bat of the game. In the second game of the series, Ford pinch hit for CC and did not get on base.
Here is where it gets good.
Mike Ford did not start the final game of the Dodgers series. Didi Gregorius was hit by a pitch in the first inning by Clayton Kershaw, and Ford replaced him in his next at-bat. Ford proceeds to hit a home run off of Kershaw, and a double off of Pedro Baez, driving in two runs in the process. A huge performance for a player who was most likely not going to be used against Kershaw.
The last series of the road trip was against the Seattle Mariners, the team that had selected Mike Ford out of the Rule 5 draft before the 2018 season. His time with the Mariners did not pan out, and Ford was sent back to the Yankees organization.
This was his time to prove them wrong.
I mean, what can we say at this point?
Mike Ford, 4-0.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/DYDg5eJrRP
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 27, 2019
Ford batted ninth in the first game of the series and dominated the plate. Ford hit two home runs, and drove in three runs. In the second game, he went up to the plate five times, and only had one hit. In the last game of the series, Ford only had one hit, and it was a home run off of Justus Sheffield, a player formerly regarded as one of the Yankees’ top prospects.
Mike Ford, like many players this season, has adopted the next man up mentality. When it was time to bounce back from being swept by Oakland, Ford stepped up and raked.
Players like Ford are why the Yankees have had the success that they have this season, and hopefully he continues to do as well as he has been lately.
Featured Image: Adam Hunger - Associated Press
