Ted Ford

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=darkblue
bgcolor2=maroon
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Ted Ford
position=Outfielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1947|2|7|
debutdate=April 7
debutyear=by|1970
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
finaldate=September 29
finalyear=by|1973
finalteam=Cleveland Indians
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.219
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=17
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=68
teams=
*Cleveland Indians (1970-1971, 1973)
*Texas Rangers (1972)
highlights=
*none

Theodore Henry Ford (born February 7, 1947 in Vineland, New Jersey) is a former righthanded Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers from 1970 to 1973.

Drafted by the Indians 11th overall in the 1966 amateur draft, Ford began his professional career with the Dubuque Packers. In 71 games with them in 1966, he hit .263 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 262 at-bats.

The following year - 1967 - he played for the Pawtucket Indians. He hit only .210 in 443 at-bats with them.

He missed the entire 1968 and 1969 seasons due to military service. He fought in the Vietnam War.

In 1970, he mostly played for the Wichita Aeros, hitting .326 with 12 home runs and 57 RBI in 383 at-bats with them. However, he started the season with the big league club - on April 7, he made his major league debut with the Indians. Facing star pitcher Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles, he went 0-2 with a walk in his first game.

He spent time in both the majors and minors in 1971 as well. In the majors, he hit .194 in 196 at-bats. In the minors - playing for the Aeros again - he hit .330 in 176 at-bats.

On April 3, 1972, Ford was traded to the Texas Rangers for Roy Foster and Tommy McCraw. He played in 129 games with the Rangers that year, hitting 14 home runs and driving 50 runs in in 429 at-bats. His batting average was .235. Ford spent nine games with the Denver Bears that year as well, hitting .222 in 36 at-bats.

Ford was traded back to the Indians on May 10, 1973 with Dick Bosman for Steve Dunning. He appeared in only 11 big league games that season, hitting .225 in 40 at-bats. He played his final game on September 29.

Although his major league career was over after 1973, he was stilled involved in notable trades after that. On April 24, 1974, for example, he was traded back to the Rangers for Charlie Hudson.

Overall, Ford hit .219 in 240 major league games. In 711 at-bats, he hit 17 home runs and drove 68 runs in. According to the Similarity Scores at Baseball-Reference.com, he is most similar statistically to Jim Nettles.

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/fordte01.shtml Baseball-Reference]
* [http://thebaseballcube.com/players/F/Ted-Ford.shtml The Baseball Cube]