Mike Ford (baseball)

2.1. New York Yankees (2012-2021)

After going undrafted in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, Ford signed with the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the A-grade Staten Island Yankees, where he spent the entire season, batting .235/.346/.374 with 3 home runs and 17 RBIs in 33 games.

In 2014, Ford started the season with the A-grade Charleston RiverDogs. In May of that year, he notably hit four home runs in a single game against the Hickory Crawdads. He was subsequently promoted to the High-A Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League in August, finishing the season there. Across both teams, he played in 105 total games, achieving a slash line of .292/.383/.458 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs. His performance earned him recognition as a South Atlantic League Mid-Season All-Star.

In 2015, Ford continued to play for the Tampa Yankees, batting .260/.346/.368 with 62 runs (ranking 10th in the league), 6 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 60 walks (4th in the league) in 123 games. He was named a Florida State League Mid-Season All-Star for the second consecutive year. The 2016 season saw him play for Staten Island, Tampa, and the Double-A Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League. Combined across these three teams, he posted a slash line of .289/.411/.479 with 8 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 41 walks while only striking out 29 times in 56 games.

The Seattle Mariners selected Ford from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 draft on December 12. However, the Mariners returned him to the Yankees on March 24, 2018, as per the Rule 5 draft regulations. In 2017, he spent time with Trenton and the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the International League. He led the Eastern League with 76 walks (striking out only 56 times) and was second in the league in on-base percentage, batting a combined .270/.404/.471 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs in 126 games. He was recognized as an MiLB Yankees Organization All-Star and an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star. In 2018, he spent most of the season with Scranton, recording a slash line of .251/.327/.433 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 108 games across Staten Island and Scranton. In total, Ford maintained a .269 average with 71 home runs and 328 RBIs over 561 minor league games.

The Yankees extended a non-roster invitation to Ford for spring training in 2019. He was initially assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the 2019 season. The Yankees promoted Ford to the major leagues on April 16 when Greg Bird was placed on the injured list. Ford made his major league debut on April 18, starting as the seventh batter and designated hitter against the Kansas City Royals, though he went hitless in three at-bats. After going 0 for 6 in his first two games, Ford recorded his first MLB hit on April 21, a double to left-center field off Jorge López, contributing to a 7-6 win against the Royals. On April 23, he hit his first MLB home run off Chris Stratton of the Los Angeles Angels.

On August 15, 2019, during a blowout game against the Cleveland Indians, Ford made his pitching debut. Despite giving up two home runs, he pitched two innings, including a clean 1-2-3 ninth inning. On August 26, Ford achieved his first multi-home run game in his MLB career, hitting two home runs against the Seattle Mariners. On September 1, Ford delivered his first career walk-off hit, a solo home run off Liam Hendriks in a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. In his debut season in MLB, he appeared in 50 games, batting .259 with 12 home runs and 25 RBIs.

Ford spent the entire 2020 season with the Yankees, but he faced offensive challenges, posting numbers significantly below his 2019 performance, with a slash line of .135/.226/.270, along with only 2 home runs and 11 RBIs. After posting a slash line of .133/.278/.283 in 22 games during the 2021 season, Ford was designated for assignment by the Yankees on June 12, 2021.

2.2. Tampa Bay Rays (2021)

On June 17, 2021, Ford was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later (later announced as outfielder Aldenis Sanchez) and cash considerations. Upon joining the Rays, he was assigned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls. However, his tenure with the organization was brief, as he was designated for assignment by the Rays on August 21.

2.3. Washington Nationals (2021)

The Washington Nationals claimed Ford off outright waivers from the Rays on August 23, 2021. He was assigned to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. On November 30, Ford was non-tendered by the Nationals, which made him a free agent.

2.4. Seattle Mariners (2022)

On March 15, 2022, Ford signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He started the season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), where he batted .317 in 10 games. On April 19, 2022, his contract was selected to the major league roster. However, he was designated for assignment on April 25 without having played any major league games for the Mariners in that stint.

2.5. San Francisco Giants (2022)

On April 30, 2022, the Mariners traded Ford to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. He played in only one game for the Giants, on May 1, where he went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. He was subsequently demoted to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats of the PCL, where he recorded 0-for-7 at-bats. On May 11, Ford was designated for assignment by San Francisco following the acquisition of Donovan Walton.

2.6. Seattle Mariners (second stint) (2022)

On May 12, 2022, the Giants traded Ford back to the Seattle Mariners. In his second stint with the Mariners, he batted .179 in 37 plate appearances as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. On June 4, Ford was again designated for assignment by the Mariners.

2.7. Atlanta Braves (2022)

On June 10, 2022, the Atlanta Braves claimed Ford off waivers from the Mariners and optioned him to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers of the International League. He was recalled to the major leagues on June 20. On June 30, during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Ford, who had some pitching experience from his Princeton University days, pitched his second MLB game (his first being with the Yankees in 2019) in relief when the Braves gave up 2 runs in the series finale. Ford became the first position player since Charlie Culberson to take the mound for the Braves. He was optioned back to Gwinnett on July 4. Ford was recalled again on July 8 but was optioned back to Gwinnett on July 11 without making another appearance. On August 10, Ford was designated for assignment and released.

2.8. Los Angeles Angels (2022)

On August 16, 2022, Ford signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He played for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees of the PCL and was promoted to the major leagues on August 25. On September 28, Ford was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake on October 2. Ford elected free agency on October 7.

2.9. Seattle Mariners (third stint) (2023)

On January 13, 2023, Ford signed another minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners organization, marking his third stint with the club. He began the season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Ford delivered strong performance in Tacoma, hitting .302/.427/.605 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs in 49 games before he exercised the opt-out clause in his contract on June 1.

The following day, Ford was formally selected to Seattle's active roster. He proved to be a formidable contributor on offense after rejoining the Mariners, whose designated hitter position through mid-June was posting an OPS of just .580 (the lowest in the American League by over .100 points), alongside an MLB-worst .160 batting average. In 83 games for Seattle, Ford batted .228/.323/.475, achieving career-highs in home runs with 16 and RBIs with 34. On November 14, he was designated for assignment after multiple prospects were added to the roster.

2.10. Cincinnati Reds (2024)

On February 23, 2024, Ford agreed to a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds. This contract included a potential major league salary of 1.30 M USD, with options for up to 125.00 K USD in incentives. He was granted his release by the Reds on March 22 when it was announced he would not make the Opening Day roster. On March 28, Ford re-signed with the Reds on a new minor league contract.

He began the season with the Triple-A Louisville Bats. In 24 games for the Bats, he hit .297/.381/.539 with 6 home runs and 15 RBIs. On May 4, Ford was released by Cincinnati after he triggered the opt-out clause in his contract. On May 8, Ford re-signed with the Reds on a major league contract. In 17 games for Cincinnati, he batted .150/.177/.233 with one home run and 4 RBIs. Ford was designated for assignment by the team on May 29. Two days later, he refused an outright assignment to Louisville and elected free agency.

2.11. Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2024)

On July 4, 2024, Ford signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars (横浜DeNAベイスターズ_{Yokohama DeNA Beisutāzu}^Japanese) of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). His uniform number was 99, and his estimated annual salary was 500.00 K USD.

Ford made his professional debut in Japan on July 13 in an Eastern League official game at Fighters Kamagaya Stadium against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He started as the fourth batter and designated hitter, recording his first hit and RBI in Japan against Yazawa (矢澤宏太_{Yazawa Kōta}^Japanese). On July 26, he was promoted to the first squad as a substitute for Tyler Austin, who was removed due to a concussion. He made his NPB debut at his home field, Yokohama Stadium, against the Yomiuri Giants (読売ジャイアンツ_{Yomiuri Jaiantsu}^Japanese), starting as the seventh batter and first baseman. On July 27, also against the Giants, he hit his first NPB home run, a solo shot off Inoue Onoda (井上温大_{Inoue Onoda}^Japanese). On August 2, Ford was removed from the roster as Austin returned to the first squad. He did not make another first-squad appearance during the regular season, playing 6 games with a batting average of .200, 1 home run, and 2 RBIs in the first squad. In the second squad, he played 41 games, batting .211 with 8 home runs (tied for team lead) and 21 RBIs.

Ford started as the sixth batter and designated hitter in the Farm Japan Championship (ファーム日本選手権_{Fāmu Nihon Senshuken}^Japanese) against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (福岡ソフトバンクホークス_{Fukuoka Sofutobanku Hōkusu}^Japanese), where he hit two consecutive home runs, earning him the Excellent Player Award. He contributed to the team's first Farm Japan championship. With a foreign player roster spot opening due to Rowan Wick's right oblique strain, Ford was recalled to the first squad on October 12, just before the start of the Climax Series. He appeared as a pinch-hitter in all playoff games, hitting a home run to right field off Murakami Shōki (村上頌樹_{Murakami Shōki}^Japanese) in Game 2 of the First Stage against Hanshin at Hanshin Koshien Stadium on October 13. He also hit a tying RBI against Togō Shōsei (戸郷翔征_{Togō Shōsei}^Japanese) in Game 6 of the Final Stage against the Giants at Tokyo Dome on October 22, contributing to the team's advance to the Japan Series. He primarily appeared as a pinch-hitter in the 2024 Japan Series. Throughout the postseason, he played in 12 games, recording a batting average of .333, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, and an on-base percentage of .412, which contributed to the team's Japan Series championship. On November 30, it was announced that Ford would not return to the BayStars in 2025, making him a free agent.

2.12. Minnesota Twins (2025-present)

On January 2, 2025, Ford signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.

3.1. Batting Statistics

• Statistics as of the end of the 2024 season.

3.2. Pitching Statistics

• Statistics as of the end of the 2024 season.

3.3. Fielding Statistics

; Pitcher Fielding

; First Baseman Fielding

• Statistics as of the end of the 2024 season.

4.1. NPB First Records

• First appearance and first start: July 26, 2024, against the Yomiuri Giants (読売ジャイアンツ_{Yomiuri Jaiantsu}^Japanese) (14th game of the season) at Yokohama Stadium, starting as the 7th batter and first baseman.
• First at-bat: July 26, 2024, in the 2nd inning against Akahoshi Yūji (赤星優志_{Akahoshi Yūji}^Japanese), resulting in a flyout to third base.
• First hit, first home run, and first RBI: July 27, 2024, against the Yomiuri Giants (読売ジャイアンツ_{Yomiuri Jaiantsu}^Japanese) (15th game of the season) at Yokohama Stadium, in the 5th inning, a solo home run to right field off Inoue Onoda (井上温大_{Inoue Onoda}^Japanese).