Ford dominated with bat and arm
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The first three years of Mike Ford’s high school baseball career could have gone better.
As a freshman at Montgomery High, a knee injury forced him to miss the entire season. He transferred to the Hun School the following year and missed a good chunk of his sophomore season with a broken wrist. As a junior, he hit close to .500 and pitched well enough to be named the prep school Player of Year, despite sporting a 1-6 record.
As a senior, Ford had everything come together. First, he stayed injury free. At the plate he was a monster, batting .481 with eight home runs and 32 runs batted in just 54 at bats. And on the mound, he was dominant as he went 6-1 with a 0.83 earned-run average, striking out 110 batters and walking just 11 in 59 innings.
”This year was like a mirror image of last year,” Hun School coach Bill McQuade said. “Last year he was the Player of the Year in the preps and he had a 1-6 record. He had a great year offensively, I think he hit .470, but he was only 1-6 because he pitched all the tough games and we didn’t hit very well or catch the ball very well last year. So even though he was 1-6, the prep coaches still thought he was the Player of the Year.
”This year, for a high school pitcher, or any pitcher for that matter, to have a 10 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio is unbelievable. With that many innings to average nearly two strikeouts an inning and virtually no walks, it’s amazing.”
On the mound, Ford was close to unhittable, allowing just 30 hits in 59 innings. In the Mid-Atlantic Prep League championship game, he came within one batter of a perfect game. At the plate, his numbers included a .611 on-base percentage and a 1.093 slugging percentage.
Mike Ford is the Princeton Packet Baseball Player of the Year.
”It’s all maturing and getting older,” said Ford, a Montgomery resident. “How you react in certain situations is how you become a better player. Being in more situations all the time and me being able to say it’s just one ball and let’s go out and get the next guy. You just have to put it behind you and go after the next hitter.
”Stats are stats. Guys look at them a lot. But you kind of realize they’re just there. My year that I had at 1-6, I wouldn’t change a thing. I lost five one-run games and two of them were 1-0 and two others were 2-1. We had a young team and I knew that going in. I really can’t complain. You do your best and try to move on.”
Ford’s best this year rivaled any season a Hun player has put together, and there have been some good ones.
”We’ve had some excellent pitchers here with guys like Steve Garrison, Mike Russo and David Putman,” McQuade said. “Mike is right there with them or maybe even a little ahead of them. And then when he’s not pitching we move him over to third base and he’s a phenomenal hitter. He had eight home runs. He’s a top player as a hitter and as a pitcher.
”He’s so big and strong. He came in a sophomore and got hurt and didn’t really play much that year. But he committed himself to getting in better shape. He lifted weights and worked out and he has become a real strong kid. He’s big, but he’s also pretty quick on his feet and he’s an excellent baserunner. He really is a complete player.”
Ford is set to attend Princeton University in the fall, although with the Major League Baseball Draft this weekend, that could certainly change. He loves the idea of attending Princeton, but could also realize a lifelong dream if he’s drafted by a professional team.
”That’s been my dream since I was about 5 years old,” Ford said. “It is something you always think about.”
Added McQuade: “I think, in the back of his mind, like any young kid growing up he hopes to get drafted. His stats are so good and you hope it happens because he deserves it. But he’s also set to go to Princeton and (coach) Scott Bradley is getting a great player.”
The decision to attend Princeton was an easy one for Ford once he weighed everything that was important to him.
”It’s a great program with an amazing coach,” Ford said. “It’s close to home so my parents can see me, and they have supported me through everything. It’s a great education and I am just familiar with everything. I had an offer from Stanford that I was really considering. If I was going out there in three months I don’t know how I would be feeling right now.”
While he’s sure about his Princeton decision and will wait to see what happens with the draft, one thing Ford can say for certain is he had a great senior year.
”My catcher, Chris Leach, and I played together over the winter and last summer, so we really bonded with our chemistry,” Ford said. “He was a real important factor as well. He knew what I was going to throw in every count. He would calm me down if something didn’t go right. But I think the biggest thing was just maturing on the mound and staying levelheaded. Our team played great defense behind us and if someone made an error it was no big deal. I just also was more confident in my stuff.”
McQuade could see the difference early on, and as the season went on his senior just gained more and more confidence.
”He came into this season more relaxed,” McQuade said. “I talked to him early and let him know I wanted him to go out there and have fun and just pitch and hit the ball. We had some kids around him have great years like David Dudeck and I also think it helped to have Andrew Galan ease some of the pressure as a pitcher.
”He loves the game. He loves to hit and on the mound he is such a competitor.”
So, after a frustrating start to his high school career, it all came together this year for Ford, who should continue to get better at the next level, wherever that might be and at whatever position works out best in the long run.
”I love doing both,” he said of pitching and hitting. “I love being able to play and being in the lineup every single day. I also love starting every fourth day on the mound. A big part of choosing Princeton was that I could do just that and not have it taken away from me when I’m not ready to give it up yet.
”The bottom line was that I had a couple injuries early in my career in high school and I didn’t get to play a full season until I was a junior. It was still fun. Baseball season is the best time of the year no matter how bad you are. This year it just all came together. The whole team got better. We got better as a unit and I feel like I got better, faster and improved my skills all around.”