Theodore Henry Ford (born February 7, 1947) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and Texas Rangers from 1970 to 1973. He is the grandfather of

Darren Ford Darren Scott Ford (born October 1, 1985), nicknamed The Bullet, is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He is the grandson of Ted Ford, who played in the majors in the early 1970s. He played 33 games for the San Francisco Gi ...

, who debuted with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in 2010.

Career

Drafted by the Indians 11th overall in the 1966 amateur draft, Ford began his professional career with the

Dubuque Packers Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names in various leagues, playing in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976. Dubuque teams were an affiliate of the Houston Astros (1975–1976), Kansas City Royal ...

. In 71 games with them in , he hit .263 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 262 at-bats. The following year, , 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. In 1970, he mostly played for the

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association grew ...

, 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 David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyn ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, 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 Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

. 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 Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

that year as well, hitting .222 in 36 at-bats. Ford returned to the Indians along with

Dick Bosman Richard Allen Bosman (born February 17, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1966–73), Cleveland Indians (1973–75), and Oakland Athle ...

from the Rangers for

Steve Dunning Steven John Dunning (born May 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, Montreal Expos and ...

on May 10, 1973."Bosman Sent to Indians By Rangers for Dunning," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Thursday, May 10, 1973.
Retrieved January 21, 2023. 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 still involved in notable trades after that. On April 24, 1974, for example, he was traded back to the Rangers for

Charlie Hudson Charles Hudson (born August 18, 1949) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1972 to 1975 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and California Angels. He was 6'3" tall and he weighed 185 pounds. He attended T ...

. Overall, Ford hit .219 in 240 major league games. In 711 at-bats, he hit 17 home runs and drove in 68 runs.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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