Duck’s Lew Ford is league MVP for July at age 41
Ducks' Lew Ford drives a single up the middle in a game against the Somerset Patriots on July 22 at Bethpage Ballpark. Credit: George A. Faella
On Aug. 12, Lew Ford will turn 42 years old. On Aug. 3, the Ducks slugger was named Atlantic League Player of the Month for July. Few players play past 40, and even fewer excel, but the outfielder is showing that age has nothing to do with numbers.
Those numbers, even on the other side of conventional wisdom, have certainly been award worthy this year.
Ford, who is in his ninth season with the Ducks, hit .380 in 24 games in July, leading the team in home runs (6), RBIs (28), and runs (20). He had a .663 slugging percentage and a 1.083 OPS during that period. Ford hit safely in 21 of his 24 games, including an 11-game hit streak.
The key to Ford’s success is easy to pinpoint — health. He’s been bothered by injuries — namely a balky hamstring — for the last few seasons. But those woes seem to be gone, and Ford has snapped right back to his normal productive self.
Entering Saturday, Ford had played in 84 games — eight more than he played all of last season and the most he’s played in for the Ducks since 2014, when he was in the lineup 140 times. Not all of those absences were due to injury and he did spend part of the 2015 season playing in Mexico. But generally it’s been ailments that have kept the former major-leaguer sidelined.
In those 84 games this year, Ford has hit .293 with 10 home runs and 63 RBIs. He had 95 hits and 21 doubles in 324 at-bats.
Ford said yoga, something he taught himself to do by watching YouTube videos, has kept him limber enough to stay on the field.
“I just typed in ‘hip’ and ‘back’ because that’s where I had the most tightness,” Ford, who is also the team’s hitting coach, said earlier this month. “They have yoga for different parts of your body and you can do it quick, 20 or 25 minutes. It’s a really good workout. You really feel better afterwards . . . I’ve never really done it before because I’m terrible at that stuff. But, if you feel better, you might as well keep doing it.”
If the yoga keeps Ford on the field, the Ducks will certainly take it.
Ducks lose ace to China
Generally speaking, the Ducks have held on to the majority of their players this season — something that hasn’t always been the case with major league organizations pilfering Central Islip in past seasons.
But the Ducks lost a giant piece of their starting rotation last week when Bennett Parry’s contract was purchased by the Chinatrust Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Parry was virtually un-hittable at points this season. He went 6-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 14 starts and struck out a league-leading 116 batters. Even though he is now halfway around the world, his strikeout total may not be touched for another week or two. David Kubiak, a Riverhead native who plays for the Somerset Patriots, was second with 84 strikeouts entering Saturday.
Ducks are hunting
The Ducks have clawed their way back into the Liberty Division second half championship chase, something that seemed a dicey proposition after being swept at home by Somerset in mid-July. But thanks to a sweep of the Patriots at Bethpage Ballpark last week, the Ducks entered Saturday night’s game against the woeful Road Warriors two games back of Somerset for first place with a month-and-a-half left in the regular season.
“We’re playing like we’re capable of playing,” Ducks manager Kevin Baez said. “Our bats are coming alive like we thought they would.”
The winner of the second half earns an automatic berth in the post-season. Somerset won the first half and has already clinched. If the Patriots or Sugar Land Skeeters — who won the first half title in the Freedom Division — win their division in the second half, the berth goes to the wild card winner.
The Ducks were 4 1⁄2 games back of the Lancaster Barnstormers for the wild card lead, entering Saturday and one game back of the New Britain Bees for the second wild card, which would take effect if both Somerset and Sugar Land finish the second half in first place.
K-Rod Watch
Francisco Rodriguez was 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA and 19 saves in 27 appearances entering Saturday. He struck out 25 and walked 14 in his first 26 1⁄3 innings. Rodriguez earned a one-out save in the Ducks 6-4 win over the Patriots on Wednesday.
