Hun School grad in running for top award
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Mike Ford will find out On Saturday if he can add another honor to a burgeoning baseball resume, though there’s one thing missing that figures to fuel him over the next year of his career.
Ford, the Hun School graduate who is now going into his senior year at Princeton University, went undrafted in the amateur Major League Baseball draft earlier this month despite making history with his junior season with the Tigers.
”The season I had last summer and coming back and having a good year, I was pretty disappointed on the three draft days to not be picked up,” said Ford, who grew up and lives in Montgomery. “It makes you angry and makes you want to work harder and come back next year and put up bigger numbers.”
Ford isn’t paying attention to the numbers, but plenty of others have. He was recently named one of three national finalists for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award. He is up against Marco Gonzales of Gonzaga and Michael Lorentzen of Cal State Fullerton. Ford was already named a third-team All-America pick as well as a second-team selection by ABCA/Rawlings.
”It’s a special group of guys,” Ford said. “It’s a huge deal for me to be recognized on a national level.”
Ford is also a semifinalist for another national award, the Gregg Olson Award. In his third year starting for Princeton, Ford hit .320 with 38 RBI, 31 walks and delivered six home runs. He was also the Tigers’ top pitcher, going 6-0 with a 0.98 ERA. In nine starts, he had five complete games and a shutout. He struck out 32 and opponents batted just .191 against him. And all of that was after a relatively slow start offensively, and while taking on Princeton’s traditionally stacked early-season out-of-conference schedule.
”We have a lot of guys that have great years when they get into conference,” said PU head coach Scott Bradley. “That Mike had three or four good starts before conference got going, those numbers were mind-boggling. To pitch that much and have an ERA under 1.00 is incredible.
”We had a rough year offensively as a team. After 12 games, so over 25 percent of our season, Mike was hitting about .130. In league play, in our 20 games, he tied for the league lead in home runs, and led the league in RBI. He lost the batting title by three-thousandths of a point to Alec Keller. He almost won the offensive Triple Crown and led the league as a pitcher. It was pretty incredible that one person would lead the league in that many categories. It’s pretty incredible the year that he had.”
For his year, Ford became the first Ivy League player to be named both the Ivy Player of the Year and the Ivy Pitcher of the Year in one season.
”To have someone be the Ivy League Pitcher and Player of the Year is amazing,” Bradley said. “In our last game against Cornell, he pitched 10 innings and it was a 1-1 tie and he hits a grand slam. It’s like back to Little League. A lot of times, he’d win himself a game by getting a hit and he’d been pitching.”
Ford came away pleased with the season he had. He had done much of what he wanted to do after a summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League.
”I came into it the most prepared as I’ve been in college,” Ford said. “I was happy with the results. I struggled with the bat early on. I picked it up at the end. I was really happy with the results.”
Ford never could have anticipated winning both the top pitcher and player awards in one year.
”It was crazy,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting that at all. I was expecting one or the other. There are guys that have really good years, and it was nice to be recognized for the work I put it in. It’s the defining moment that proves that work pays off.”
Ford is again playing in the Cape Cod league this summer. It gave him the start that he needed for his junior year as a pitcher and hitter.
”I got some experience up in the Cape,” Ford said of his pitching. “It helped me learn how to pitch. I worked on my slider a bunch and worked on my change-up too. Both of those pitches were big. I still have my fastball, curve ball and working both sides of the plate. I was fine-tuning everything.
”As a hitter, I was working to try to get a little more power on my swing,” he said. “I came up to Cape Cod last summer and I showed a little power at the end. I was working with a new swing. I refined it. I got my hands a little higher and got some more air on the ball. I got the kinks out. I felt really comfortable going into the year with a new swing.”
With the summer success and an unprecedented Ivy season, Ford was hoping he would be drafted by a team. There was interest, but not enough for a team to pull the trigger during the draft.
”With as great a year that Mike had, the pro people need to see that one big tool they can put their reputation on,” Bradley said. “As a pitcher, his biggest attribute is his competitiveness and make-up. It’s tough for a scout to sign that. As a pitcher, he’s in that 87-90 mile per hour range. He’s not a guy throwing mid-90s, he’s not 6-4, 6-5.”
Bradley figures that some team will see all the success that Ford has had and look past some of the physical numbers at the sort of player that he is after next year. There is still a debate among scouts about where they can see Ford’s future — as a pitcher or position player. His two-way prowess is an asset to Princeton, but it may have confused scouts.”
”If you go back to the recruiting process, that’s why Mike is at Princeton,” Bradley said. “He had plenty of offers from big schools. He knew coming to Princeton that he was going to jump in the middle of our rotation and the front end of our lineup. He loves hitting. He’s loves pitching. He loves being a baseball player. It’s the reason we have him. The season he had this year was historic.”
It’s no surprise to Ford that he’s continued the success he had from the first time he played the game in Montgomery. At every level, he has proven to be as effective a hitter as he is a pitcher, and he’s not giving up on either with a year of college left.
”I’ve been doing it all my life,” Ford said. “I’ve been confident in myself all the time, and confident I could do it at this level. It’s nice to get the recognition. I’m confident. You have to think you’re the best person out there. When it works out, it’s great. When you struggle, it stinks. It’s the mentality you have to have to perform.”
Ford isn’t holding back on taking on new challenges. A first baseman at Princeton when he’s not pitching, he has taken on some third base and even catching for the Contuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod league.
”I’m trying to make myself the best prospect for next year,” Ford said. “The more I can do, the better I feel I can do.”
Ford continues to work on his velocity, though it will be nearly impossible to improve the pitching statistics he put up this year. He continues to work on becoming a more dangerous hitter. He may yet be honored with the top award in the nation for a two-way player, and he is hoping that next year that will be good enough to let some major league team start his professional career.
Said Ford: “Not to say it in a bad way, but hopefully I get a shot next year and show the 29 teams that passed up on me that it was a bad idea.”