Eddie Ford

Edward Joseph Ford

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.
• School University of South Carolina
• High School Great Neck South High School

• Born July 18, 1953 in New York, NY USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

"He has good range and an accurate arm." - Dick Berardino, Eddie Ford's manager at Elmira, quoted in the Sarasota Journal, August 5, 1974

The son of Whitey Ford, Eddie Ford was a first-round draft pick who played four years in the minors, reaching AAA.

As a youngster, he had been a bat boy for the New York Yankees. In college at the University of South Carolina, he played under coach Bobby Richardson, a former Yankee.

Eddie was drafted in the 45th round of the 1971 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won Bronze with Team USA in the 1973 Intercontinental Cup. He was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 1974 amateur draft, the 20th pick overall, one slot ahead of Rick Sutcliffe.

Ford split his first season between the Elmira Pioneers (.227/~.300/.305 in 40 games, 9 for 11 in steal attempts) and the Bristol Red Sox (.160/~.250/.173 in 27 games). In 1975, Ford had 40 errors and fielded .913, while hitting .251/~.288/.333 for Bristol. He stole 10 bases in 14 tries but only drew 17 walks in at least 372 plate appearances.

Returning to Bristol in 1976, Eddie fielded much more sharply - his .953 fielding percentage was best among regularly used Eastern League shortstops. He batted .247/~.311/.317 in 111 contests. In his final season, Ford was on the Pawtucket Red Sox, putting up a .223/~.354/.268 batting line in 49 games. He fielded .919 in 37 games at shortstop and .917 in 10 games at third base.

Sources include 1975-1978 Baseball Guides, Thebaseballcube.com