TRENTON- Mike Ford is one of two Thunder players, joining Billy Fleming, who get to play each day very close to their old stomping grounds. Add in Eric Ruth, who is from Abington, Pennsylvania, and the three players give Trenton a distinct hometown feel to its roster. But it is Ford, the Hun School and Princeton University graduate from Belle...
TRENTON- Mike Ford is one of two Thunder players, joining Billy Fleming, who get to play each day very close to their old stomping grounds.
Add in Eric Ruth, who is from Abington, Pennsylvania, and the three players give Trenton a distinct hometown feel to its roster.
But it is Ford, the Hun School and Princeton University graduate from Belle Mead, that has spent almost all of his life in the area. At Princeton, he was the first Ivy League player in the history of the league to win the Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year awards in the same season
Now he is with the Thunder, after missing almost half the 2016 season with a hand injury, and Ford is looking to help the white-hot Thunder win some silverware. With Trenton in the middle of a series with Hartford, the team chasing them in the race for the second playoff spot, Ford knows this is an important time of year.
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"This is a very big series for us," Ford said. "And it is nice to play in a series like this, at this time of year, coming off of an off day. You get amped up for the rest of the year. We have another one coming up against them in two weeks, so we have two pretty big series in the next two weeks. I think we play Reading the last series of the year too, so there are definitely some big series on the way."
Ford went 2-for-3, with two runs scored and a RBI, in the Thunder's huge 11-4 win Tuesday night over the Yard Goats. It put Trenton in great position heading into Wednesday's noon start, knowing that a win would give the Thunder a series win, and put them in position to go for a sweep on Thursday.
But for Ford, who has his average up to .278 with the Thunder and .301 overall on the season at two levels, just to be back playing after his long lay-off is great. To do it in front of his friends and family? Even better.
"They actually came down to the first game I played in here," Ford said. "It was last series. The second game of last series, they all came. It was nice to be home, and to have a big crowd here. It was great to play in front of them."
"With the injury at the beginning of the year, it wasn't an ideal start to the year," Ford said. "I got off to a hot start, then I had the hand injury. So that wasn't ideal, but I got back quicker that I thought I would, and got the opportunity to come here. So I am just trying to compete here, and solidify myself at this level, and see where it goes from there."
"My hand is good now, but the timing takes a little bit of time," Ford said. "I only had 11 rehab at-bats, so my first 20 or so here I was still trying to feel things out. But I feel really comfortable at the plate know, and I am really getting back into it."
Ford had never had an injury sideline him from baseball for a lengthy period, so everything that came with it was a first for him.
"It is a process, and you have to kind of stay true to your process," Ford said. "I had to realize when I had this it was going to be three months, and get my mind set on that. You know the first week, you are like, this is boring. Then you kind of settle in, and do what you can to stay in shape."
"You get back on the field as soon as it allows you to," Ford said. "But it can get boring. You have your weeks when you get back to it, but it is basically track practice in the morning. You run a lot, and lift a lot. That is basically all you can do."
"It is earlier mornings too," Ford said. "You are already back on the season schedule, and you have to go back to the morning schedule. It is a little bit different, but once you get used to it, it is not terrible."
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Catcher Kyle Higashioka was the latest Thunder player to make the jump to Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, joining Jordan Montgomery and Cito Culver who went before the Hartford series. Expect much more movement over the next month-plus.
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean