Highlighted Year: Russ Ford, 1910

Pitcher, New York Highlanders

Age:  27 (April 25)

1^st season with Highlanders

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175 

Prior to 1910:

A native of the Canadian province of Manitoba, Ford moved with his family to Minnesota. After high school he played for several minor league teams. Following a season in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League in which he was with Springfield and Cedar Rapids, he broke out with an outstanding season for Cedar Rapids in 1906 in which he produced a 22-9 record. Moving on to the Atlanta Crackers of the Class A Southern Association in 1907 he compiled a 15-10 tally. Reliant on his spitball (a legal pitch at the time), in 1908 he began experimenting with a scuff ball, roughening the ball’s surface to cause it to dip oddly. Still with Atlanta he went 16-14 and was drafted by the Highlanders in 1909. Ford appeared in one game with New York in 1909 and pitched poorly, causing him to be sent to the Jersey City Skeeters of the Eastern League where he worked on his scuff pitch, concealing an emery board in his glove. His record for Jersey City was 13-13 with a 2.41 ERA and 189 strikeouts over 276 innings. He returned to the Highlanders in 1910 with far better results. 

1910 Season Summary

Appeared in 36 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 36 [10, tied with Eddie Cicotte & Cy Morgan]

Games Started – 33 [5]

Complete Games – 29 [4]

Wins – 26 [2]

Losses – 6

PCT - .813 [2]

Saves – 1 [9, tied with twenty-one others]

Shutouts – 8 [2, tied with Walter Johnson]

Innings Pitched – 299.2 [4]

Hits – 194 [17]

Runs – 69

Earned Runs – 55

Home Runs – 4 [9, tied with six others]

Bases on Balls – 70 [14, tied with Barney Pelty]

Strikeouts – 209 [4]

ERA – 1.65 [7]

Hit Batters – 8 [17, tied with six others]

Balks – 1 [2, tied with ten others]

Wild Pitches – 5 [18, tied with six others]

Midseason Snapshot: 11-4, ERA – N/A, SO - 89 in 147.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 11 (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis Browns 7/19, (in 9 IP) vs. Cleveland 8/30

10+ strikeout games – 4

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis Browns 7/19

Batting

PA – 112, AB – 96, R – 8, H – 20, 2B – 1, 3B – 5, HR – 0, RBI – 7, BB – 9, SO – 33, SB – 1, CS – N/A, AVG - .208, GDP – N/A, HBP – 1, SH – 6, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 89

Put Outs – 7

Assists – 75

Errors – 7

DP – 4

Pct. - .921

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The Highlanders went 88-63 to finish second in the AL, 14.5 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics. The pitching staff led the league in saves (8) and fewest walks issued (364). Paced by Ford’s pitching, the Highlanders bounced between third and fourth place until mid-May, when they jumped into second. In first place from June 5 to 12 and then briefly on June 15, they were at 36-21 entering July. The club battled to stay in contention through August, and taking advantage of Detroit’s collapse, took over second place to stay on Sept. 27, although they remained well behind the Athletics.

Aftermath of 1910:

The Highlanders dropped in the standings in 1911, but Ford had another solid season as he posted a 22-11 record and 2.27 ERA with 26 complete games and 158 strikeouts over 281.1 innings. In addition to his spitter and scuff ball, he threw a fastball and knuckleball. Ford slumped in 1912 and went 13-21 with a 3.55 ERA, 30 complete games, and 112 strikeouts over 291.2 innings. He topped the American League in the negative categories of earned runs surrendered (115) and home runs surrendered (11). His ERA dropped to 2.66 in 1913 but his won-lost record was a mediocre 13-18 as he dealt with a sore arm. Jumping to the Federal League in 1914, Ford produced a 21-6 tally and 1.82 ERA for Buffalo. With the emery pitch banned by the Federal League in 1915, his record dropped to 5-9 and a 4.52 ERA prior to being released in late August. He pitched for two more years in the minors before his playing career came to an end. For his major league career, Ford produced a 100-71 record with a 2.59 ERA, 126 complete games, 15 shutouts, 8 saves, and 710 strikeouts over 1487.1 innings. With the Highlanders/Yankees his totals were 74-56 with a 2.54 ERA, 100 complete games, 10 shutouts, 2 saves, and 553 strikeouts over 1112.2 innings. He died in 1960 at age 76. Ford was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. His brother Gene briefly pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 1905. Thanks to his mastery of the scuff ball, Ford was an outstanding pitcher with the Highlanders for a short time.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.