Yankees rookie slugger Mike Ford takes a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: How would you sum up your journey to the big leagues?

A: It was a long, long journey. A tough one, too. It’s something I would never give back. Definitely hard work, determination, and just kind of the will of not quitting. … There were definitely times where I was very close [to quitting]. I had very good people around me that supported me and kind of kept me in line.

Q: What was the closest time you came to quitting?

A: (Laugh) Oh man, there’s a few. … It’s a weird one because I was having a really good year in ’17, I went up to Triple-A, did well for like two weeks because of an injury, and got moved back down to Trenton, and that was like the third time the year that happened. We were at Binghamton, I’ll never forget it, and I called my dad and I was just like, “I don’t think I have it anymore.” I had a really bad doubleheader. I think I got punched out like six times. He actually drove up, and he talked to me a bit and got my mind right.



Q: What did he tell you?

A: (Chuckle) I’d rather keep that private, but he was just making sure I was all right.

Q: Why can’t you share that?

A: (Laugh) I’m sure he said something like, “Stop whining” to lead it off. He said, “Let’s not make a rash decision. Let’s sleep on it, think about it for a few more days.” I ended up waking up the next day and being like, “All right, I’m good.”

Q: What drives you today?

A: Living up to the player that I know I can be. I think [that’s] what a lot of guys strive for. It took me a long time to get here, but keeping the faith and getting here and being a confident hitter and being confident in what I do, I just want to prove that I can be that player that I know I can be.

Q: Do you have a chip on your shoulder?

A: I wouldn’t say at this point, no. Definitely when I started … not being drafted out of high school, not being drafted as a junior, signing as an undrafted free agent as a junior, it was kind of like, “OK, we gotta prove something to people.” That’s kind of left a little bit, it’s more just for myself.

Q: What was the low point emotionally for you when the Mariners gave up on you, after acquiring you from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 draft?

A: They were really great to me, they sat me down, explained the situation. It made a lot sense for their organization and for me to be sent back [to the Yankees in March 2018]. It didn’t set in really until I kind of got back to Florida. Probably first month of the year was the toughest for me to get through, just kind of, “OK, missed an opportunity.” Couldn’t really get over it for a little bit, and then had my [oblique] injury and come back and just said, “You gotta make a new one now.”

Q: It was a punch to the gut?

A: It was a great experience, a good opportunity for me. It was just like, OK, here’s another setback, all right, now we gotta pick ourselves up again.

Q: Who did you turn to for support?

A: Family’s always there — my mom, my dad, my brother — always there. There’s also a lot of people in the Yankees organization that I could turn to — a few of the minor league coordinators, Pat McMahon and Jody Reed … Chris [Passarella] is our mental conditioning guy for the minor leagues. Basically everyone, coaching staff … everyone kind of was supportive of me.

Q: Describe your on-field mentality.

A: Relaxed, at this point. Relaxed, but with a strong intent to win. If I get a little bit too excited, I kind of get outside of myself, so if I can keep myself calm, that’s when I’m at my best. But always with the intention of making a spectacular play or hitting a home run to put us up one.

Q: Was there a time when you had a problem being calm?

A: When I got up here first, the game was moving a little quick. Coming back from Seattle, it was, “All right, I gotta go out and hit five home runs in two at-bats today just to prove everyone wrong.” My line’s always been: “Play where my feet are,” I’ll be the best version of myself.

Q: Give me a scouting report on you right now.

A: A confident hitter that’s gonna control the zone and hopefully be a tough out. I have some power that’s kind of come into fruition here the past few years. If I can continue to put swings on good pitches, I’ll be fine.

Q: Does your recent hot streak qualifies you to be a “Savage”?

A: (Laugh) Hopefully. Hopefully I can stay one for a little bit.



Q: How would you define what a Savage is?

A: I think it’s just our mentality. We’re aggressive, we attack pitches and we can control the zone well. And even if we’re down, we’re still looking to have great at-bats, and not giving up.

Q: How many Savages are in that clubhouse?

A: Everyone. Every single one of the guys. It’s a great team to be a part of.

Q: Why did you decide to stay near home and go to Princeton University?

A: I could do both there, I could play first and pitch. The coach there, Scott Bradley, I’ve known for a really long time. Great person. He actually just texted me [Friday], it’s the first time we’ve talked in a while.

Q: What did he tell you?

A: He just said, “Just keep it up, and try to get to a game.” My professor that did my thesis with me is actually coming on Saturday.

Q: Thesis on what?

A: It was a thesis on the Dominican Republic and its relationship to Major League Baseball, basically.

Q: What made you pick that?

A: I was a history major, so I had to tie it into U.S. history somehow. But it’s always been just a topic I’ve been interested in, about how that island’s kind of become a feeder system to MLB at this point out of all the other islands in the area. My thesis of my thesis, I guess (chuckle) was that based on the formation of the amateur draft here, the Cuban embargo and the island of the Dominican itself, all three of those things led it to become a feeder.

Q: What is the name of your professor?

A: Professor Sean Wilentz. He comes to spring training every year. He’s a huge Yankees fan.

Q: Did you get a grade on it?

A: Yeah, I don’t really remember what I got. I got my diploma so I was like, “Perfect” (laugh).



Q: Why did you major in history?

A: I’ve always been fascinated with history. It repeats itself. I like learning about old conflicts and how they arose. Hopefully somehow we can learn from those and not allow them to happen again. Who knows with what goes on (chuckle) in D.C? I find it fascinating how things could have been resolved and weren’t, and let’s not make the same mistake twice.

Q: What are your favorite New York City things?

A: One thing I really want to do is I want to go to the 9/11 Memorial very bad. My mom opened up a clinic for anyone that worked at 9/11 that they can get free health care from the state of New Jersey.

Q: Do you remember 9/11?

A: Vividly. Everyone in the classroom had left school, and I’m like, “What is going on?” Me and my one buddy were the last two people like left in the whole school. My mom picked me up, I was like, “Why’d everyone leave school today?” She was like, “I couldn’t get out of work. I knew you’d be safe there.” I just remember my teacher getting a phone call, coming back in the room crying, and then kids just starting leaving and I was like, “What is going on?” I don’t think that everyone really felt the effects of it if you’re not from around here, but a lot of people lost their lives from my area [Montgomery, N.J.]. Just kind of a crazy overall day.

Q: What was the worst minor league bus ride?

A: Oh boy. … There’s a lot of ’em (laugh). I think the worst ones were Charleston [S.C.]. We’d get one bus for the whole team, and there’d be like six beds on the bus, eight beds on the bus. So never got a bed, never got anything, just kind of all those long trips from Charleston were like, “Man, this is tough to get through.”

Q: What was the longest ride?

A: It was from Charleston to New Jersey, Lakewood — 16 hours I think it was, or like 12 hours.

Q: Where did you sleep?

A: In just a sit-up seat.

Q: Were you able to sleep?

A: Occasionally, here and there I guess (laugh).

Q: Describe the dust-ups with the Syracuse Mets and your Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team in May — when they plunked a batter after you hit a homer and benches cleared, then they threw at your head the next day?

A: Got a 97 mph fastball at my head my next at-bat [the next day], and that wasn’t too great of the guy. You can go ahead and hit whoever you want, hit me, just don’t go at my head.

Q: Did they have a problem with your home run trot?

A: I think my first-base coach like faked me a handoff or something. … It was nothing over the top at all. He hit the next guy, and then the next day, threw it at my head.

Q: What comes to your mind when I say … Aaron Judge?

A: Superstar.

Q: Gleyber Torres?

A: Younger superstar (chuckle).

Q: Gary Sanchez?

A: Homers.

Q: Luis Severino?

A: Electric.

Q: Who were your favorite players when you went to the old Yankee Stadium as a kid?

A: [Derek] Jeter was one of my favorites, Tino Martinez was another one of my favorites … basically all the big guys. Loved watching Mo [Mariano Rivera] pitch, loved watching Roger Clemens pitch when he was here, and [Andy] Pettitte.

Q: How many games would you say you went to there?

A: Probably two a year, three a year.

Q: You never made it over to Shea Stadium?

A: No, we didn’t. My grandparents live in Port St. Lucie, so we would go down to Mets spring training here and there.

Q: What do you remember about the 2000 Subway Series?

A: I watched it in my parents’ room. I was 8 years old. They had a little TV in the room.

Q: Who is one pitcher in MLB history you would have wanted to face?

A: I would say Randy Johnson, but that’d be scary (chuckle). Him or maybe like Nolan Ryan … just to see it.

Q: If you could pick the brain of any player in MLB history, who would it be?

A: Maybe Babe Ruth, see what he was thinking.

Q: You’ve hit four home runs in one game twice.

A: Once in high school, once in [Single-A] Charleston. It’s pretty awesome (laugh).

Q: Do you miss pitching?

A: There’s times, yeah definitely. It was fun to get back up on the mound [against the Indians on Aug. 15]. Even though I got rocked (chuckle). I definitely think I’m a much more capable hitter.

Q: Did you envision being a pitcher one day at one point?

A: Definitely yeah, out of high school I actually was at a pre-draft workout here for pitching. Then my first year in Cape Cod, I went up there my sophomore year as a pitcher only, and two first basemen got hurt, so I played the next day at first, and from then on.



Q: How hard did you throw in high school?

A: High school I was like 91, 94, and in college I was like 88, 92.

Q: Who are athletes in other sports you admire?

A: I’ve always been a Tiger Woods fan. His dominance at the top of a sport was probably unrivaled for a huge extended period of time. Basically anyone that just dominates a sport — LeBron [James], [Alex] Ovechkin, [Sidney] Crosby. A lot of people don’t realize that all those guys do so much to stay there, too. It’s just a testament to who they are.

Q: Who was your boyhood idol?

A: My dad. He’s overwhelmingly positive for anyone he’s around. Just taught me exactly how to be a good person and how to interact with people and be kind, and also, when you need to get stuff done, get stuff done, and just taught me to be who I am.

Q: Is he still a doctor?

A: He’s in cancer research now. He started his own company in 2000, and consults for cancer research now, so he’s kind of like partly retired. And then my mom’s still a physician.

Q: You never considered going into that field?

A: No, my brother [Rob] took that one for me (laugh). He just finished his fellowship. He’s an interventional radiologist.

Q: You participated in the Yankees’ award-winning Hope Week celebration at a children’s hospital in the minors.

A: That was in Tampa. Make a kid’s day, it’s a nice thing.

Q: You still do yoga?

A: Not during the year. I haven’t been able to find a place. But offseason, it’s like five times a week.

Q: You’re a grill master.

A: I love cooking in general. It just kind of relaxes me.

Q: Tuna fishing as well. Ever catch a shark?

A: Oh yeah. We have two boats in the backyard at the beach. Me and my brother go out all the time — shark fish, tuna fish, stripers.

Q: Have you eaten shark?

A: Mako’s great.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Abe Lincoln, Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky.

Q: Did you play hockey?

A: I did a little bit growing up, but me and my dad would always go to Rangers games.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Forrest Gump.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Bradley Cooper.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Jennifer Aniston.

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A: Favorite band right now is probably Adoration.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Chicken parm.

Q: Where’s the best chicken parm in the metropolitan area?

A: My mom makes a really good one (chuckle).

Q: What is your mindset as we enter September knowing you may not be part of the October drama?

A: Just to stay available, stay healthy and continue trying to showcase what I can do, help the team win. I know I got the opportunity because a lot of guys were hurt and everything, but each opportunity you get the chance to showcase something for yourself, and I think it’s just important to keep playing the way I know I can.

Q: What is so great about being a New York Yankee?

A: It’s the team that I grew up wanting to play for my whole life. It was a little kid’s dream. This is the pinnacle, all sports. Great fans, awesome atmosphere day in, day out. On the road we have more fans usually than the home team. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I’ve been little. … It’s crazy.

Q: What was it like the first time you put on the pinstripes?

A: Just an overwhelmingly awesome feeling. I think my first one was just coming out here before BP and stuff that day, and it was like, “Wow! I got here.” It was kind of cool. I try to do that at every stadium we go to, just to kind of take it in and just start each series with a nice big sigh and just kind of take everything in that I can.