Harry Ford (baseball)

Last updated

Harry Ford
Seattle Mariners – No. 5
Catcher
Born: (2003-02-21) February 21, 2003 (age 22)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 5, 2025, for the Seattle Mariners
Men's baseball
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
European Championship
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Czechia Team

Harrison Michael Ford (born February 21, 2003) is a British-American professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the Mariners in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2025. He represents Great Britain at the international level.

Contents

Amateur career

Ford attended North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. As a senior, he batted .296 with seven doubles and five home runs and was named the Greater Atlanta Player of the Year by MaxPreps. [1] Ford played in 104 games over four varsity seasons and batted for a .343 average with 83 runs scored, 20 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, and 57 RBIs. [2] He committed to play college baseball at Georgia Tech. [3]

Professional career

The Seattle Mariners selected Ford in the first round, with the 12th overall pick, in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. [4] On July 22, 2021, he signed with the Mariners for the assigned slot value of $4.36 million. [5] Ford made his professional debut that summer with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Mariners, slashing .291/.400/.482 with three home runs, ten RBIs, seven doubles, nine walks, and 14 strikeouts over 65 plate appearances. [6]

Ford played in 2022 for the Modesto Nuts of the Single-A California League. [7] He hit .274 with 11 home runs. In 2023, he was promoted to the High-A Everett Aquasox, where he hit .257 with 15 home runs. Ford arvanced another level in 2024 and his batting average continued to drop, hitting .249 with 7 home runs for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. [8]

Ford was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game in 2023 and 2024. He struck out in his single at-bat in 2023, and he walked in his lone plate appearance in 2024. [9] [10] Ford was named the Mariners' top prospect and a top 50 overall prospect by MLB.com before the 2023 season, [11] and the top Mariners prospect and #40 overall prospect by FanGraphs in the middle of the 2024 season. [12]

Ford began the 2025 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, batting .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs, 74 RBI, and seven stolen bases across 97 games. In late June, he joined the Mariners as catcher Mitch Garver recovered from a jaw injury, but Ford was not added to the team's roster. [13] He returned to the Futures Game in July, striking out at the plate and throwing out an attempting base stealer. [14] On September 1, Ford was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. [15] [16] He made his debut on September 5 against the Atlanta Braves, striking out on three pitches as a pinch hitter. [17] Two days later, after entering as a defensive replacement, Ford was hit by a pitch and scored his first run in the majors. On September 11, Ford drove in his first major league run with a walk-off sacrifice fly to right field in the 12th inning to beat the Los Angeles Angels. [18] [19] He had his first MLB hit, a single off Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 27. [20] In his September call-up, Ford batted 1-for-6 in 8 games. [18]

On the Mariners' postseason roster as a backup catcher, Ford hit a single in his first playoff appearance, at the end of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. [21] [22]

International career

Ford is eligible to for play Great Britain in international competition because it is the birthplace of both his parents. [23] He played for Great Britain at the 2023 World Baseball Classic qualification tournament in Germany in September 2022, helping his team win all three of its games and homering in the team's final victory over Spain. [24] [25] [26] He then played for Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hitting two home runs and batting .308 in four games. [27] [28] [29]

At the 2023 European Baseball Championship in September 2023 in the Czech Republic, Ford played catcher and DH and batted .429 with 3 home runs in 21 at-bats for Great Britain, leading the tournament with 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. [30] [31] [32]

References

  1. ↑ "2021 MaxPreps All-America Team: Louisiana pitcher Jack Walker headlines high school baseball's best". MaxPreps . July 6, 2021.
  2. ↑ Kramer, Daniel (July 11, 2021). "Mariners draft prep C Harry Ford at No. 12". MLB.com.
  3. ↑ Gustafson, Brandon (July 12, 2021). "Mariners draft athletic Georgia HS C/OF Harry Ford with 1st-round pick". Seattle Sports .
  4. ↑ "North Cobb catcher selected by Mariners in first round of MLB draft". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . July 11, 2021. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Mariners Sign Top Three Draft Picks". MLB Trade Rumors. July 22, 2021.
  6. ↑ "2021 Arizona Complex League Top 10 Prospects". Baseball America . September 29, 2021.
  7. ↑ Hamilton, Quinton (April 7, 2022). "MiLB Notebook: Hear from Nuts' top prospect and coaching staff ahead of 2022 season". The Modesto Bee.
  8. ↑ "Harry Ford Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  9. ↑ "MLB Gameday: NL Futures 5, AL Futures 0 Final Score (07/08/2023)". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  10. ↑ "MLB Gameday: NL Futures 6, AL Futures 1 Final Score (07/13/2024)". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Here are the Mariners' 2023 Top 30 prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  12. ↑ "The Board". FanGraphs . Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  13. ↑ Kramer, Daniel (June 28, 2025). "On taxi squad, Ford enjoying 'cool day' in big leagues". MLB.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  14. ↑ Trezza, Joe; Sepe-Chepuru, Shanthi (July 13, 2025). "Here's how all 30 teams' prospects fared in the Futures Game". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  15. ↑ Kramer, Daniel (September 1, 2025). "Mariners bring up top catching prospect Harry Ford". MLB.com. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  16. ↑ Divish, Ryan (September 1, 2025). "Mariners call up top prospect Harry Ford and release Donovan Solano". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Mariners Game Notes — Sept. 6 at Braves". Seattle Mariners. September 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  18. 1 2 "Harry Ford 2025 Batting Game Logs". Baseball Reference . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Touted rookie Harry Ford delivers off bench as Mariners top Angels in 12 to tie for 1st in AL West". AP News. September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  20. ↑ Kramer, Daniel (September 28, 2025). "Ford picks up first career hit -- with his childhood hero standing at first". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Harry Ford singles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Daulton Varsho. | 10/15/2025". MLB.com. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  22. ↑ Polishuk, Mark (October 12, 2025). "Mariners Add Bryan Woo, Miles Mastrobuoni To ALCS Roster". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  23. ↑ Harrigan, Thomas (September 16, 2022). "Top Mariners prospect Ford goes yard for Great Britain". MLB.com .
  24. ↑ "Great Britain baseball men's team announces roster for 2022 World Baseball Classic qualifier". British Baseball Federation . September 15, 2022. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  25. ↑ "MLB Gameday: Spain 9, Great Britain 10 Final Score (09/20/2022)". MLB.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Harry Ford crushes a solo home run to center field | 09/20/2022". MLB.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  27. ↑ "World Baseball Classic Stats: Great Britain". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  28. ↑ Scott, William (October 31, 2023). "Seattle Mariners prospect Harry Ford uses AFL to improve his game". Cronkite News. Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  29. ↑ Yates, Clinton (March 14, 2023). "Seattle Mariners prospect Harry Ford is turning heads for Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic". Andscape. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Harry Ford Stats | 2023 European Baseball Championship". WBSC Europe . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  31. ↑ "2023 European Baseball Championship Stats". WBSC Europe . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  32. ↑ WBSC Europe (November 3, 2023). EuroBaseball 2023: Highlights Great Britain VS Italy. Event occurs at 0:55. Retrieved September 15, 2025– via YouTube.
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