PNG graduate Lew Ford, 43, takes home Atlantic League player-of-month honor

Published 1:14 pm Friday, September 6, 2019

Lew Ford is still at it — and coaching younger players along the way.

Lew Ford

Doubling as the Long Island (New York) Ducks’ outfielder and hitting coach, the 43-year-old Port Neches-Groves graduate was named the Atlantic League’s player of the month for August. He earned the award for July 2018.

Ford hit a league-best .486 with 36 hits in 77 at-bats. His .506 on base and .676 slugging percentages also topped the league charts during the month.

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Ford hit safely in 16 of 17 games and recorded multiple hits in nine games. Of those nine, the outfielder earned five hits each in two games.

Ford spent six seasons in Major League Baseball, five with the Minnesota Twins (2003-07) and one with the Baltimore Orioles (2012). His 15 home runs in 2004 were a career high.

He spent some time in the Dominican Professional Baseball League, winning the championship series’ MVP award in 2014 and 2016. Ford is currently on his third stint with the Ducks.

The Atlantic League is an independent association, meaning neither team is part of a major-league franchise’s farm system. The league includes seven teams located on the Atlantic Coast and one in Sugar Land, the defending champion Skeeters.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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