Dan Ford   |   Major Leaguer   1975-1985

[1979] - AL MVP (Voting Rank: #26)

Ford grew up in the Watts area of Los Angeles, a dangerous part of town and has come a long way since. He was a first round draft pick by the outfielder-rich Oakland Athletics and after putting up good numbers for 4 straight years in the minors, he was mercifully traded to the Minnesota Twins and after an injury to Lyman Bostock, he became the starting outfielder and was the Twins rookie of the year.

Ford was known as an aggressive outfielder who went after every ball, costing him many errors in the process. Dan remained with the Twins until 1978 when after having differences with manager Gene Mauch, he was traded to the Angels.

Ford never hit .300 nor did he hit more than 21 home runs or steal more than 17 bases but he was a cosntant performer who could help you in many different ways. His best season came in 1979 when he scored 100 runs and drove in another 101 with a .290 batting average for the Angels. After the strike-shortened season and after once again hooking up with manager Gene Mauch, Ford was again traded, this time to the Orioles where for the first time in his career, he struggled.

He would rebound in 1983, hitting .280 with 30 doubles but the next 2 years were spent in a part-time role and he retired after the 1985 season.

After his playing days, Ford became a scout with the Oakland Athletics but not for very long. He formed an intervention program that helped with tough kids from poor areas to help them adjust to life. At one point, he owned a batting school and he worked in real estate. After he retired from work altogether, he managed rental properties..

Ford earned the nickname 'Disco Dan' during his rookie year in Minnesota. He had some friends who owned a disco in Minnesota and he would frequent the club often prompting the owners to coin the nickname. T-shirts with 'Disco Dan' writtenon them became the rage in right field.

Notes: Grew up with Hall of Famer Eddie Murray...Hit the first home run in the new Yankee Stadium...Won World Series with the Orioles in 1983 going 2/12 with a homer that won game 3...His father played some semi-pro ball...Received an MVP vote in 1979...Hit for the Cycle 8-10-79...Had 3 home runs in game 7-20-83....had 5 hits once...Had 7 rbis in a game 4-26-78...Had great success against Mike Norris (11/26 3-hr)....Member of the World Series Champion Baltimore Orioles in 1983.

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