Unlike the New York Yankeesformer first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford finished his season with a title, though he came to Japan when his MLB dreams faded.
Acknowledging that he tried to put off playing in Japan as long as possible, Ford’s whirlwind season, which left him out of an MLB job, made him more open to playing abroad. He was asked on “Foul Territory” what he would tell other players about playing in Japan, a place he eventually embraced.
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“Right now, I’m a big homebody,” Ford, 32, said Wednesday. “I like safety and the feeling that I know things around me. So for me, those were my biggest concerns, transitioning (and) not knowing the culture, not wanting to misstep and do something to offend someone. All these things go through your head because you’ve never actually been there.
“And I got there, and within three, four days all those tensions were relieved. I mean, the translators really work hard with you. Even though they may not be there when you go home at night, they teach you how to do things. When you have a good group of teammates, like me, you can do things together. The first few times I rode the train to the minor league complex, a few guys helped me through it. But all life worries disappeared very quickly. It was just fun. It was a nice experience. The people are incredibly nice, very quiet, clean and really cool – a cool place to be, to be honest. It’s a great life experience.”
Ford, who started his major league career with the New York Yankees for three seasons (2019-2021), had a 2024 campaign that encapsulated how volatile MLB can be.
It started when the 781-at-bat veteran was denied a contract by the Seattle Mariners, where he hit 16 home runs and posted a 124 OPS+ in 251 at-bats in 2023.
And after signing with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in February, Ford would be released or re-signed by the Reds five more times on May 31. In between, he got 105 plate appearances in Triple-A and got a major league call-up. where he went 9 for 60 after heading home.
“When that was done, I actually said maybe it was time to try something new,” Ford said.
But little did he know, it would also be difficult to get regular playing time at Yokohama, due to the limit on foreign players for each team; he needed pitchers the most. He said he was given a six-game opportunity at the professional level when former Yankee Tyler Austin suffered an injury, but was then sent back to the minors for the remainder of the year.
“So it was kind of the same for me on the baseball side, up until the playoffs, and then, luckily growing up in the playoffs, pinch-hitting, basically every game,” Ford said. “Life off the field was great, and I would recommend it to anyone. I mean, you have to go through some of the minor league stuff. It’s 1 hour of playing on artificial turf and the 100 degree heat in the summer. It’s not like that nice. But the game in the big league is a really great environment.”
In the regular season, Ford played six games in the Japanese professional league, compared to 41 in the minors. He hit nine home runs and batted .209 at both levels.
But he ended the season by hoisting a trophy along with the Nippon League champions – next to Austin – making the roller coaster season worth it.
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