The 100 Greatest Angels - #99 Dan Ford

by Rev Halofan on Nov 15, 2005 12:23 AM PST in Top 100 Angels (2005) Comment 1 comment

#99 - Dan Ford, OF (primarily RF), DH

Dan was acquired in a trade before the 1979 season (due likely to the tragic murder of Lyman Bostock) and was the lineup protection for Don Baylor's MVP season. Disco Dan, as he was nicknamed in the only Summer when that music ever mattered, had quite a year himself - 21 HR, 100 runs, 101 RBI and 264 total bases in a successful quest for the division title. Injuries took their toll on Dan in the 1980 and 81 season. But he did the Halos one last favor - he was part of the trade with Baltimore that brought 3B legend Doug DeCinces to Anaheim.

Career Stats

Dan won a WS with Baltimore in 1983, but is probably best remembered as the answer to a trivia question: Which player hit the first homerun in the remodeled Yankee Stadium? Dan did in 1976 when he was with the Twins.

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My bits

Sorry, Rev, for not getting this to you in a more timely manner --

Brought aboard to replace the murdered Lyman Bostock, "Disco Dan" Ford had a teriffic 1979, smacking 21 homers for a .290/.333/.464 season that helped lead the club to an AL West pennant. But in November, he had knee surgery that kept him out through spring training, joining MVP Don Baylor, Brian Downing, and Dave Skaggs on the DL. He came back in mid-April, but he was never 100%, hitting a measely .220/.290/.322 by the time he finally acquiesced to the inevitable DL time in June of 1980. Off the field until August, he went 3-3 in his return game, a 9-5 romp over Minnesota, playing well for the remainder of the season. The next year, despite playing well when healthy, he spent another two months on the DL, which may have prompted a trade to Baltimore.

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

by scareduck on Nov 16, 2005 12:15 AM PST reply actions 0 recs