Ahead of Tuesday night’s win over Atlanta, Yankees designated hitter Mike Ford said he was confident in his abilities to step up to the plate in replacing the injured Giancarlo Stanton.
One can imagine that confidence exponentially increased after the 28-year-old punched in three crucial RBI in that 9-6 victory over the Braves, one that comes after the team’s rough 1-3 skid on the road against the Rays.
“Right now I feel like I’m seeing the ball great,” Ford said. “I’m a very confident hitter, I know I can help this team win when given the chance.”
Now in a starting role as the Yankees ready for eight straight at home games followed by three in Queens against the Mets, it seems that those chances will consistently arise in the upcoming days.
“Once I was getting regular at-bats last year I seemed to kind of settle in, it’s a big opportunity for me,” Ford said.
He also said that despite the lack of 40,000-plus raucous fans at Yankee Stadium, there is still an element of a home-field advantage that the Yankees intend on making use of.
“Just being able to be in your own bed in a place where you’re comfortable, you’re routine is much easier,” Ford said, mentioning that there’s also a consistent routine with COVID-19 testing that isn’t experienced on the road.
Ford not only spoke of confidence in himself for the remainder of this odd and shortened season, but also that of his teammates.
“Speaking for myself and everyone in that clubhouse, the sole goal is to win 28 this year,” he said, adding how exciting it is to watch Aaron Judge bat this season.
So far on the year Ford, came to the plate 22 times, batting .227 with seven RBI and an OPS of .734 prior to Wednesday night’s tilt against the Braves.
