Lew Ford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Minnesota Twins — No. 20 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| May 29, 2003 for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through July 18 2006) |
|
| Batting Average | .278 |
| Runs Batted In | 154 |
| Home Runs | 28 |
Lew Ford (born Jon Lewis Ford on August 12, 1976 in Beaumont, Texas, USA) is a Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He currently plays for the Minnesota Twins as their fourth outfielder and occasional designated hitter. He bats right and throws right, and wears number 20.
Ford is a 1994 graduate of Port Neches-Groves (Texas) High School and a 1999 graduate of Dallas Baptist University. He also played college baseball at Texas A&M University and Seminole Junior College. He and his wife Corri (née Hernandez) have two children (Jake and Jordan).
In 1998, Ford was a first team All American at Dallas Baptist. He set their single school batting record, batting .507 over the course of more than 50 games. In spite of this incredible achievement, Ford was not chosen in the MLB draft. He came back the following year and had another good season at Dallas Baptist, after which he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 12th round of the 1999 amateur draft.
In 2000, he played his first full year of Single A ball for the Augusta Greenjackets of the South Atlantic League. He had a good season, stealing 52 of 56 bases, and established the team single-season batting record by hitting .315, adding 74 RBI from the leadoff spot. Baseball America named him as the best defensive outfielder in Class A, and The Sporting News identified him as the Best 5-Tool Prospect in the Red Sox organization. He led minor league baseball in runs scored with 122 (he would also led minor league baseball in runs scored in 2002).
Twins fans at the Metrodome confused Ford for a long time by chanting his first name in a long, drawn-out manner whenever he would come up to the plate ("LEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!"). Ford thought they were booing him; it took Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to set him straight.
Ford scored a 1400 on the SAT and is a "computer and math whiz" according to his teammates, but he is also very absent-minded. He has become infamous around the clubhouse for attempting to iron a shirt while he was wearing it. [1] Once while on a road trip his laptop computer broke down so Ford had his PC shipped to his hotel.
Ford was named AL Player of the Week for the week ending August 21, 2005. He helped the Twins take three of four games from the Seattle Mariners after hitting 12-for-33, including three home runs, and leading the league in RBI and runs for that week.
