This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:06] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to the Break a Bat Podcast where baseball meets Broadway, an attempt to show that my two favorite mediums don't have to live in such separate worlds and maybe even break some stigmas.

[0:18] Al Malafronte: We're happy to have you with us. Now let's play ball.

[0:23] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to Break a Bat. I'm your host, Al Malafronte, coming at you from the Broadway Podcast Network Studios with one of Broadway's brightest rising stars. A common expression that you often hear around show business is the show must go on. It's commonplace in the theater world for unexpected occurrences to pop up during the course of production or leading up to opening curtain. The successful shows find a way to persevere despite the obstacles in front of them, which so often resonates with the audience. The 2019 production of the New York Yankees was no different. A record-setting number of injuries to key cast members put the show in peril from the get-go, and fortunately, the team's strong battalion of understudies came ready to respond.

My guest today not only seized that opportunity but ran with it. In the heat of the pennant race, the baseball equivalent of a show's late season push for a Tony, after a brief stint playing the role of first baseman in the season's early going, talking back in April, he returned to the big league stage for good during a crucial series against the Boston Red Sox in August and never looked back. There he was to stay on Broadway for the remainder of the season. Over the team's final 51 performances, my guest today became a principal, appearing on stage in 39 of them, tapping into a skill set that includes incredible lefty power, a great knowledge of the strike zone, and as we all love here on Broadway, a flair for the dramatic, hitting his first walk-off home run over Labor Day weekend, one of the 12 he hit on the year, 11 of which came in the season's final two months as the Yankees captured their first division title since 2012. If you'll please turn your attention to center stage, just beyond home plate. Now batting, Mike Ford.

[2:00] Mike Ford: Hey, how are you? Thanks for having me, guys.

[2:02] Al Malafronte: Hey, it's a pleasure, man. I mean, listen, I know the production didn't end the way we wanted it to for the Yanks, but I mean, what an exciting playoff run. Is a rookie coming in and experiencing it for the first time, what was that like for you?

[2:13] Mike Ford: I mean, for me, being a New Jersey kid growing up, it was just a dream come true for me the whole year, kind of. And you know, it didn't end the way we wanted it to, but definitely a heartbreaking loss. But get right back to it. Try to do it again next year.

[2:31] Al Malafronte: Now you mentioned you're a New Jersey native. I'm sure you went to the old stadium quite a bit as a kid.

[2:36] Mike Ford: Yeah, a lot. A lot more at the old stadium than the new stadium. I think I only went to the new stadium one time.

[2:41] Al Malafronte: Who were you guys growing up?

[2:44] Mike Ford: Tino was a big one for me, being a first baseman. I just liked the way he did stuff, left-handed hitter. Jeter, obviously, Mo, you know, all the greats. I was fortunate being a kid when so many great players were coming through. So I'd probably say Tino, though.

[3:01] Al Malafronte: Let's just go back to, let's say, game two division series, Didi hits the Grand Slam. Do you think it rivaled what you used to hear in the old stadium, you know, during the most dramatic time of year, the playoffs?

[3:12] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, that was an electric atmosphere. It was awesome to be there and just kind of experience that from the bench instead of the stands. It gets really loud, and it was awesome.

[3:26] Al Malafronte: Mike, I feel like you of all people appreciated having the chance to perform here more so than anyone else. I want to draw a Broadway parallel here for a second. The number of actors and actresses that come to the city with the hopes of making it here is so slim. And it's very similar for a baseball player, not only trying to make it to the majors but stay here. To a normal person who could only dream of this, what was it like to step on that field for the first time and put the pinstripes on, especially at someplace as special as Yankee Stadium where you made your debut?

[3:56] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, to make it to the big leagues is really tough. And to get to the big leagues with the best team in baseball is even tougher. But for me, I always say every stadium I go to, I just go outside, take everything in and just kind of take a mental note, and that's what I've been doing. It's been working. So just kind of deep breath, take it all in and enjoy the moment.

[4:20] Al Malafronte: Now, your debut was pretty special. I understand you had a lot of family and friends in the audience, and you had to hit in your first game.

[4:27] Mike Ford: Yeah, it was an awesome, awesome time. You know, my parents have been around forever, family's been around forever. So, you know, they really just have had the whole ride with me. So it was awesome for them too.

[4:41] Al Malafronte: Now in baseball, you have 30 big league teams. Typically here on Broadway, there's about 30 or so productions running at once, and that's kind of on the high side sometimes. You played in over 600 minor league games before you got the call, had even been let go by, you had even been let go at one point by the Yanks in the Rule 5 draft. How did you manage to stay so focused and so driven even during the tough times?

[5:04] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, I think it just kind of goes back to my family being there. I had a really good support system. And if I said that there weren't tough times where I thought about packing it in, then I would be lying. And just a really good support system that kept me positive and just having great people in my life.

[5:24] Al Malafronte: Was there like a turning point moment where you're like, hey, it's not going my way, but I could do this?

[5:30] Mike Ford: I mean, it's kind of been up and down like that the whole time. I think coming into this year, I was just saying, like, just go for it, you know, and try to enjoy it. Who knows what's gonna happen? And ended up being the best year I've ever had.

[5:43] Al Malafronte: So, you know, one thing you find with most successful performers, especially both in baseball and Broadway, is kind of like a systematic routine. Were you a Tony Gwynn guy growing up by any chance?

[5:53] Mike Ford: I didn't watch him very much, honestly.

[5:55] Al Malafronte: How about A-Rod?

[5:56] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, just because when he came to New York, obviously, but younger, younger, yeah, when he was younger, not so much, but yeah, when he came to New York.

[6:05] Al Malafronte: I'm sure you know, and he's around the team sometimes. He was so big on the cage. Kind of like if you're talking about level of stardom and level of success on Broadway, are you familiar with Kelly O'Hara?

[6:15] Mike Ford: I'm not actually.

[6:16] Al Malafronte: Okay, so Kelly O'Hara did Kiss Me, Kate. She did Nice Work If You Could Get It. She's awesome. She's won Tony Awards. She's always been huge on both physical and vocal workouts. I brought up Gwynn before because he was big on the video room.

[6:28] Mike Ford: Yeah.

[6:28] Al Malafronte: And then of course, even our friend of the show, Angie Schwarr has talked about eating potato chips before she did each show because she thought it was good for her voice. Do you have like a routine that you stick to that you know keeps you pretty consistent throughout the season?

[6:41] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, I think that's one of the bigger things that you learn the more time you spend with your body, learning your body, learning what works for you. What works for you might be something totally different than other people. So, same routine every day. Routine changes if I'm playing or not playing. And it's just kind of been developed by me, coaching staff, and just kind of everyone that helps out.

[7:07] Al Malafronte: In the age of sabermetrics, how involved is the front office in what you guys are and aren't allowed to do?

[7:15] Mike Ford: You know, they're pretty, we have a nice setup where it's kind of front office to coaching staff to us. So it's kind of a nice buffer. In my mind, they use info to help you more than anything and try to give you a touch of an edge if you can get one before the game. But it's not really directly in your face. It's kind of you gotta learn what works for you. For me, my pinch-hitting role warm-up is completely different than my starting game warm-up. So just depends on the day and what kind of works for each person.

[7:57] Al Malafronte: Do you have like an advanced schedule of when you're supposed to start and go on stage as a principal, let's say?

[8:03] Mike Ford: Not really, no. Just, I mean, you got your daily stuff, BP, cage, stuff like that, but no, not really. I mean, everyone's different. Some guys get ready five minutes before the game, other guys are out on the line 30 minutes before the game.

[8:18] Al Malafronte: So, you know, if you're five for ten against a certain pitcher, do you expect to play that night? Does it kind of work like that?

[8:24] Mike Ford: You can read it a little bit. Definitely past success is an indicator, but more matchups, kind of projections, you know, OPS is a really big thing. So projected OPS is, you know, projected any projected stats, they do them all. So that's kind of the matchups that you see.

[8:43] Al Malafronte: Dude, I gotta tell you, you're a big slugging first baseman. I have not seen many who play that position with your type of game who have such good knowledge of the strike zone. You barely strike out. Where did that plate discipline come from?

[8:57] Mike Ford: I was really fortunate that that's kind of been my thing my whole career from a young age. And you can work on it for sure. It definitely helps with all the numbers that we get, kind of having an indication of being able to think along with the pitcher and think game plan and stuff. But it's just kind of always been there, and you can obviously work on everything in life in general. So you just work on a little bit here, work on a little bit there. It's a huge part of my game that I know I have to keep in play.

[9:30] Al Malafronte: Yeah, I mean, it's such an asset and it's such a rarity today. I mean, you know, back in the day, you know, when you and I were around the same age, you had guys leading the league with like 140 strikeouts. And that was like Giambi, and you still hit 41 home runs and whatnot. Nowadays you have guys striking out like 200 times, and you struck out like less than 30 times in 50 games, which I think is pretty incredible.

[9:50] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, one of my goals every year is to walk more than I strike out, and I'm just under it in my minor league stats now for my career. But it's just always been one of those things, you know. If I can walk, it sets the next guy up. And just putting the ball in play, good things happen.

[10:06] Al Malafronte: So you mentioned your minor league career, but you also played baseball at Princeton, and you had a ton of success there. Just to touch on something here, you know, as far as a mindset as a young guy, how important was it for you to go to college and get that education before you embarked on this journey?

[10:23] Mike Ford: For me growing up, education was always a really big deal in my household. So, you know, everyone else's medical field in my house, but good grades were always the number one thing. Baseball came second. And yeah, I mean, for me, it was always a very nice comfort to know that I had my degree in my back pocket in the minor leagues too, and kind of had a backup plan. So for me, it was huge.

[10:52] Al Malafronte: Now, were you pitching a little bit at Princeton also?

[10:54] Mike Ford: Yeah, I was a starter all three years at school.

[10:57] Al Malafronte: Okay, so take me through spring training 2019. You know you might have a chance to get called up this year. How aware is the front office of the fact that you have an ability to pitch and that you could enter the game in an emergency situation like you did against Cleveland?

[11:13] Mike Ford: Yeah, I mean, I always try to let everyone know that I used to just to see if that would ever happen. That's probably the most fun I had in the big leagues, honestly. Other than the walk-off, but it was funny to do, and it really helped me kind of relax in the big leagues, which was interesting. And I was like, you know what? I can still have fun here. It doesn't have to be that serious all the time. You know, you can still take a step back, laugh a little bit, and then get back to it.

[11:46] Al Malafronte: And you got so hot right after that, like that Seattle series, you were going bananas.

[11:50] Mike Ford: Yeah, I keep saying it. I really think it was just kind of it settled my nerves down a little bit. I got to have a little fun on the field. You know, and it was just a really fun time.

[12:03] Al Malafronte: Let me ask you this, take us backstage for a moment. And you know, once you start to have success in the majors, I mean I know that you guys are pretty down-to-earth in the clubhouse, and I know Aaron Boone creates a great culture there. Do people start to treat you differently once you have success?

[12:19] Mike Ford: Not really. Especially our clubhouse. I mean, it's just all one purpose. It's to win games. And you know, I might stink for a week and someone picks me up, and then I might be good for a week and I might pick someone else up. So no, not at all. It's just kind of one goal, one mission. We fell a little, you know, obviously fell a little short this year, but with all the injuries, all the younger guys, me, myself included, first-time guys coming up, did a pretty good job, you know, in our eyes of piecing it together when we could and just kind of making it work somehow.

[13:00] Mike Ford: Were you close with a lot of guys on this team in the minor leagues?

[13:03] Yeah. So that was, you know, that was another nice thing for all of us. We had a few guys in the clubhouse that we were really comfortable with. Um for me, I've been with Nestor for like all six years of my minor league career. So, you know, we're very close with him, been with Chance for a long time, uh, Tarpley, you know, a bunch of those guys. And uh, you know, Tyro, Wade. Been with Wade since I signed. So it's just it's nice to have a familiar face in there sometimes too that you can just kind of go talk to.

[13:33] Al Malafronte: Did you know a lot about Aaron Boone before the season?

[13:36] Not much, no. Um my dad and brother were at the game where he hit the walk-off homer.

[13:41] Actually, you got snubbed?

[13:43] Yeah, he he would buy two tickets and you know, I would go to one game and my brother would go to the next game or something like that. So uh he got lucky enough to go to that game.

[13:52] I went I went to like game five, I think, or whatever it was, the game before there.

[13:57] So oh, game six, okay.

[14:00] Yeah, yeah, yeah. I it was one of those. I I think I went to two games that series, but he got to go to game seven.

[14:05] So you guys were like big Yankee fans?

[14:08] Um, not crazy, like, but it definitely during the playoffs, it was like like to go to a game or two and and just kind of be around the atmosphere. I thought that was cool. Um, but you know, only an hour away, so it's pretty pretty easy.

[14:21] Al Malafronte: So just to go back to Boone for a moment, he seems like a real chill, he seems like a real chill dude who's always got your back.

[14:28] I mean, obviously the whole savages and the box rant. Must have been real fun playing for him.

[14:32] Yeah, he's a great guy to play for. Um definitely uh a player's manager. Um obviously he's been there, done it himself too.

[14:41] Um so he knows kind of you know what what he I guess what he would want in a manager, which is kinda as a player. And uh I think that that helps him out a lot. Uh having that background of you know, a playing background.

[14:55] And yeah, he's just he's really relaxed, says hello. That's about it.

[15:00] And then you're just like, all right, let's go win a game.

[15:02] Um usually do.

[15:04] So yeah, I was gonna say you run a hundred and three of them.

[15:07] So uh he's he's been awesome to play for.

[15:10] Al Malafronte: Did you have some guys that kinda took you under their wing once you got to the majors?

[15:14] Yeah, Gardner for me was a big one. Um, you know, just teaching me how to walk through kind of planning for the game, you know, uh through numbers, different things like that, just kinda just yeah, I mean, took me under my under his wing a little bit and uh I can't thank him enough for that.

[15:32] Al Malafronte: Now, if Boone's the director, who's the stage manager?

[15:37] Uh Bard.

[15:38] Bard?

[15:39] Yeah, yeah. I mean, everyone does such a great job, uh you know, from coaches to clubhouse guys, to uh, you know, trainers to our strength guys, everyone's amazing in there. They all play, you know, a different role. But uh, yeah, I mean, I'd probably say Bart.

[15:55] Al Malafronte: What about Marlin Abreu?

[15:58] Marlon, he's a great dude. I love I like Marlin a lot.

[16:02] We see him with the Raldus Chapman a lot.

[16:03] Yeah, yeah. So he's he's the interpreter, so um Marlon's a great.

[16:08] Al Malafronte: And speaking of Araldis Chapman, have you noticed any of the fashion statements he's made lately?

[16:13] I'm not big into it, so I wear pretty simple stuff.

[16:17] But uh, yeah, he comes in with some good stuff on sometimes.

[16:20] Al Malafronte: All right, so I I have to preface you with this.

[16:22] He's becoming known on this show at least as Broadway's favorite Yankee.

[16:26] Who?

[16:27] Chapman.

[16:27] Chappie.

[16:28] Oh, yeah.

[16:29] Yeah, he's got a big theatrical fan base.

[16:31] So are you familiar with Comic Con?

[16:33] Yeah.

[16:33] All right.

[16:33] So we have a thing here on Broadway called Broadway Con.

[16:36] I went for the first time last January to where a Yankee hat.

[16:39] There's about 12, 13 different Broadway fans, who I guess have an interest in baseball, who come up to me, and let's say half of them ask me about Heraldus Chapman.

[16:49] I said, out of curiosity, like this team has Aaron Judge and Glaber and Severino.

[16:54] Why's Chapman your favorite?

[16:55] And they said he's so theatrical.

[16:57] And I think the thing that people kept pointing to was the velocity.

[17:01] Um, had you ever seen like 103 up close until you played behind him?

[17:06] I had to face him at like nine in the morning one year in spring training.

[17:11] And I was a little early for that.

[17:14] But uh yeah, no, I mean he's he's so he's so talented, man.

[17:18] Uh and he just comes right after you.

[17:22] I think that's that's the best quality about him.

[17:24] Obviously, he throws really hard, but just right after you, let's get this done.

[17:28] Let's let's get in the clubhouse and enjoy our win.

[17:31] Um, he's just got that continual pound the zone mentality.

[17:35] So it's awesome to play behind him.

[17:37] The entrance in Yankee Stadium is probably like the coolest thing.

[17:41] Uh when he comes in, the you know, fire sirens or whatever go off.

[17:45] But uh yeah, no, it's it's been it's been awesome.

[17:48] Al Malafronte: Does he ever throw any parties on his boat for the team?

[17:51] No, no, not that I've been invited to, so I can't say.

[17:54] I was gonna say, what do you think it's like?

[17:56] Uh probably fun.

[17:58] Al Malafronte: Now it's it's funny, you mentioned like his entrance.

[18:01] It's so different from you know, with Mariano, I always thought it was so funny.

[18:04] He he was like a big fan of Christian, like Christian gospel music, and they were playing Enter Sandman when he came into the game.

[18:11] Uh, for you, like picking a walk-up song, how important is that for a major leaguer?

[18:15] Uh for me, it's not as important.

[18:18] I I kind of take one and stick with it the whole year.

[18:21] If I gotta change it because I'm not doing well or something, that that's it.

[18:24] But uh had the one in triple A, and then so it's the same one up here.

[18:29] So I was doing well down there. Didn't want to change anything up, so I just kept it.

[18:34] But uh yeah, I mean it's fun, it's fun at the beginning of the year.

[18:36] Pick your, you know, pick your songs.

[18:38] A lot of guys change them a lot of times.

[18:39] But uh for me, it's just kind of stick with the one that's working and and don't change anything.

[18:44] Al Malafronte: Are you a superstitious guy?

[18:45] Very, yeah.

[18:46] Al Malafronte: What's like your biggest superstition?

[18:49] Um I put my uniform on the same way every day.

[18:56] And I rub dirt from the field of dreams on my batting gloves.

[19:00] Al Malafronte: Wait, how'd you get the dirt from field of the dreams?

[19:04] I had a friend from college who played with me in college.

[19:07] I was having a really bad year in like 2015, and he sent me a bottle of it as a joke, and I had a really good second half of the year.

[19:16] So I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna keep doing it.

[19:19] Um that's probably my weirdest one.

[19:22] Al Malafronte: I was gonna say, like, as long as you like hit home runs the way he did in August, September.

[19:25] I take it that no one in the clubhouse is like giving you crap for that.

[19:28] No, no, no.

[19:29] I kind of do it a little quietly in the locker.

[19:33] So I don't know if anyone's even seen it.

[19:36] Al Malafronte: Who who's the biggest prankster in the locker room?

[19:40] There's a bunch, but uh probably go with Guardi.

[19:43] You need that for a cast, though.

[19:45] He's got first of all, he's got the experience, so he automatically commands respect.

[19:48] Yeah, he plays the game hard, which I'm not saying it's a lost art, but there's a lot less hardos in baseball today than there was when you and I watched as a kid.

[19:58] And he's like, he's kind of like the last of a dying breed.

[20:00] And the fact that he could like still have fun, like you guys tell me take me through what was going on in the clubhouse when he went on that epic rant, slamming the bat up on the dugout and became like a rallying cry for you guys.

[20:13] Oh, I mean, you know, just Guardi being Guardy.

[20:17] Um he he's intense in every way.

[20:19] That's why he commands respect.

[20:20] And you know, from his jokes to his uh, you know, on field stuff.

[20:25] Uh he knows when to have when he can have fun and when when you need to lock in.

[20:29] And I think that was the another thing that he taught me.

[20:32] You know, it's okay to enjoy yourself, but then when seven o'clock hits, we we play as hard as we can all the time.

[20:39] Al Malafronte: All right, now I want to ask you about this.

[20:42] Um, on a baseball front for this offseason, you know, you got Didi as a free agent, DJ LeMay, who possibly slides back to second, Glaber to short, maybe Luke Voigt's having surgery on his muscles, Aaron Hicks has Tommy John.

[20:57] A lot of moving parts with this cast.

[20:59] And frankly, they could use the lefty power you provided down the stretch as an everyday player this season.

[21:04] What's your mindset knowing you could be auditioning for the full-time first baseman role with nobody behind you?

[21:12] Um, I mean, for me, I think it's um it's just focusing on what I need to focus on and uh kind of letting all the white noise just be white noise, and just like I kind of have in the past.

[21:24] Never tried to worry about that, and I, you know, really don't want to put you know that much pressure on myself or or anything like that.

[21:31] So I think uh it's mainly just kind of focusing on what I need to do to get better.

[21:36] Um, you know, uh really get my body in really good shape, uh, continue with the yoga stuff that I did last off season that helped me out a lot in little ways, but ended up being huge.

[21:48] Um, and you know, just kind of continue to if I can get a little edge somewhere, then that's what I'm gonna work on in the offseason.

[21:58] Um, but you know, it'll be interesting to see what happens with everything.

[22:02] Um people come back, people don't come back.

[22:05] Uh, you know, it'll be people will be really missed if they don't come back, which is crazy.

[22:11] Um, it's kind of just our line of work that sometimes you don't see a guy again.

[22:16] And um, but for me, it's it's more blocking everything out and just focusing on me.

[22:21] Al Malafronte: You talk about improvements.

[22:23] I mean, you had one hell of a rookie season.

[22:25] Uh you know, I know you talked before about a goal of yours was to, you know, get the white, get the walks higher than the strikeouts, but is there anything else like this particular offseason that you're like trying to improve on as far as your game goes?

[22:37] Um, I mean, I definitely think that uh you can always improve in in every area.

[22:42] Um I made a touch of a swing change last year.

[22:45] Uh, I'm gonna stay with that one.

[22:47] I don't think there's gonna be much there.

[22:49] Um, just kind of continuing to do what I do at the plate uh is a big thing.

[22:55] Uh, but for me, it's kind of kind of come in other ways.

[22:58] It'll be um agility, you know, kind of conditioning aspects and just tone everything up and then maybe get a little bit quicker.

[23:07] Obviously, can we continue to work on defense?

[23:11] Um, I can always improve in that in that in that spot.

[23:14] So more defense, agility, you know, body makeup, I think would probably be the three.

[23:20] Al Malafronte: You talked about a change to your swing.

[23:22] Did that have anything to do with launch angle?

[23:25] In essence, it does, but it wasn't the main focus.

[23:29] Um, it was just trying to give myself a little bit more time to hit off my back leg.

[23:34] That was a really small adjustment.

[23:36] Um obviously that creates a better angle.

[23:39] Um, but uh no, that wasn't the main focus of it.

[23:43] Al Malafronte: How long does it get how long does it take to get the hang of that?

[23:46] You know, did you have the same swing and same stance your entire career up till you made that change?

[23:50] So I mean, I've had a few different swings, but in the minor leagues alone, yeah.

[23:55] I've had I haven't changed anything since I started.

[23:58] Um and this is a really minor one.

[24:01] It was a really minor swing change, but it I mean, it was the beginning of spring, and I didn't click until probably three days left in spring training.

[24:09] So it was like the whole month frustrated, not really doing very well.

[24:14] Got sent back to the minor league side, really not doing well.

[24:17] I'm like, I might just go back to the old thing.

[24:20] Um and I remember hitting one ball off a lefty into left center.

[24:24] I was like, that's what it's supposed to feel like.

[24:26] And then from that day forward, it just kind of stayed.

[24:29] It yielded a lot of results.

[24:31] Al Malafronte: But take me through Labor Day weekend, Yankees A's, you guys are at this point, you know, you're trying to get a real stronghold of the division.

[24:40] Um, you hit a walk off home run.

[24:43] What's that feeling like?

[24:44] Yeah, I mean, uh wildest, wildest feeling of my life so far.

[24:49] Um, it's crazy because I don't remember anything from it.

[24:54] After I like saw the ball go over the fence, I I didn't hear anything.

[24:58] Um I watched the video now, I'm like, I don't remember.

[25:03] Like I remember like kind of looking around, but it was kind of just all blank to me.

[25:08] Um, but yeah, I mean, as a kid growing up, just like I said, dad's throwing me a ball in the backyard.

[25:16] That's what the situation you play out and you you know out loud, even as a kid, like bottom of the ninth, you know, tie game to win the game Yankee Stadium.

[25:23] It's like, wow, that happened.

[25:25] That was and yeah, dream come true.

[25:28] Al Malafronte: I was gonna say, like round in the bases, I can't even imagine that feeling.

[25:32] Is that like your I made it moment?

[25:34] Um, I'd probably say yeah, for for me.

[25:37] Um, with how I look at it.

[25:39] Um I have one uh one video from like my debut too, or it was my first hit or something.

[25:48] Mike Ford: And or yeah, I think it was my debut. I got I didn't get a hit that night. I walked or something. And for me, going back, and I kind of have two of them, and it was like Michael K was like, you've made it, no one can take that away from you. Like after saying a bunch of the minor league stuff. And I every time I listen to that, I'm like, that's awesome. So for me, it's that one, and then like on the field stuff, yeah, definitely the walk off home where it was like, okay, I can do this, I can contribute here, I can help win. And that was from there on in, it was kind of I was a little bit more comfortable.

[26:21] Al Malafronte: I was gonna say, you mentioned Michael K. It must have been pretty surreal to have John Sterling come up with a signature home run call for you.

[26:28] Mike Ford: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was awesome. John's great, and uh his calls are awesome too. So uh to get that, to get that and just kind of have that, you know, all these things that kind of happen this year, it's definitely uh the first steps of the process for me. But uh I I've definitely taken it all in too as you know, big accomplishments that I really set out to do a long time ago. So you know it's a it's a stepping stone, but I I have been very, very fortunate to get what I got so far.

[27:01] Al Malafronte: Now listen, I know you have a lot of work to do this offseason. What is some of the fun stuff that you got going on? I mean, is the holidays coming up here in New York? Like what's going on with Mike Ford?

[27:11] Mike Ford: I have a lot of weddings, a lot of my friends are getting married. So I got a lot of those. Um, and uh I have uh a new niece, um, so I'll be spending a lot of time with her. Um uh I have to go to her baptism in two weekends. So, you know, that'll be great. Uh just kind of seeing family while I'm at home, and then when I move back to Tampa, start ramping it up again, baseball.

[27:35] Al Malafronte: Yeah, it's funny. We were talking about Sterling before. Uh he he came on the show a few weeks ago, actually. You know, he's a big Broadway guy.

[27:42] Mike Ford: Yeah.

[27:42] Al Malafronte: It's amazing. Uh his knowledge of cast scores is like something I never would have expected from the voice of the Yankees. Now, you're a New Jersey native. Did you come to a lot of shows with your family growing up?

[27:54] Mike Ford: I've been I've been to uh uh a bunch in New York, yeah. Um recently, I haven't been to any this year, but uh I saw Wicked last year, very good. Um Lion uh Lion King was always a big one. I came to that a few times with family that would, you know, friends, family friends would be in town. We'd take them into the City City show. That was usually the one we went to. Uh I really like Book of Mormon. I saw that one. Um what other ones have I seen? There's a few more in there, but um, yeah, probably probably five, six shows.

[28:32] Al Malafronte: I was gonna say, I want to talk about Lion King just for a second. Would you say in the grand scheme of things, is that one of your favorites?

[28:35] Mike Ford: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I every one I've seen I've really liked. Um, so I kind of want to go start going on a little bit more now, being in the area uh and just in New York. But uh I really liked Wicked too. That was that was good. So um yeah, Lion King's probably like the classic, you know, in my mind, it's the classic.

[28:57] Al Malafronte: So dude, I'm gonna tell you straight up like I'm not like a super emotional guy, but I saw Lion King for the first time. I was 27. I went with my mom, and there was something about like something surreal that took me to childhood when they're walking down the aisle doing a circle of life, for example. Like, I got choked up, and that's just never happened.

[29:17] Mike Ford: Yeah, it's easy to get moved, but it's never really happened to be where I, you know, if something hits home. Do you is that something that you feel too when you go see a show?

[29:25] Mike Ford: That's the one I've seen like multiple times, and it's always amazing. Um, so for you know, for me, that's that's always the go-to. Um I don't know much about Broadway. So for me, just kind of going to a new show is like is a cool thing, and that that's what captivates me is just kind of seeing something new. Um, but uh definitely for The Lion King is like just a classic.

[29:50] Al Malafronte: Are there any new shows that catch your eye that you might want to see?

[29:53] Mike Ford: There was one the other day. Forget the name of it. I mean, you could say mean girls. I mean, Renee Renee Rapid plays Regina George, pretty cute girl. I mean, I'll think that's uh I would I I saw it on a billboard the other day. I gotta I gotta figure that out because I was just walking in Times Square. But um I'm sure I'll go to a few here uh in the offseason.

[30:14] Al Malafronte: If you need any tips, me and my producer sitting over there, Alan Seals, we're great resources for this.

[30:19] Mike Ford: Definitely, for sure, for sure. What's your favorite one out right now?

[30:23] Al Malafronte: That's a toughie because for a while it was Derevan Hansen, because I'm not sure if you're familiar with uh the story, but it really tackled a deep subject that that I hadn't really seen before. But right now, I'm gonna tell you Beetlejuice has a real strong spot for me.

[30:40] Mike Ford: Really?

[30:40] Al Malafronte: Yeah, I saw it the silver. So you were you guys here?

[30:43] Mike Ford: Yeah, you guys were here. I think you it was the series after the All Star break. Were you around Midtown Saturday after the all-star break, July 13th?

[30:52] Mike Ford: Power goes out in Midtown?

[30:53] Al Malafronte: No.

[30:54] Mike Ford: I was I was in uh triple A at that point.

[30:56] Al Malafronte: Oh, okay. That's right. You came back up in August. But there's so me and my buddy going to see the show. Uh, we're having dinner, and all of a sudden, you know, they try to swipe our credit card. And uh they they can't do it, and something's going on with the computer system. This was over at Sartes, actually, Alan. And whatever, there's some issues. So whatever. We we sign some, you know, paper form thing. We walk out, it's like 7 15 at night, and it's so light out, but all the lights are out. I'm like, are you freaking kidding me? We look over on Instagram, you know, you see all these shows like Lion King canceled, frozen cancelled, wicked canceled. So there's like 30 shows on Broadway. Four of them stay on. Carrie Butler tweeted, who plays Barbara in um in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice still had the juice. It was like the only one that stayed on something. It was like extra dramatics leading up to it, going into it.

[31:50] Mike Ford: But dude, if did you see the movie by any chance?

[31:52] Al Malafronte: I have not either.

[31:53] Mike Ford: No.

[31:53] Al Malafronte: So see the movie first and then try to go this offseason.

[31:57] Mike Ford: Okay, for sure.

[31:57] Al Malafronte: It's a good one. Definitely recommended.

[32:00] Mike Ford: Sounds good. Now, I thought it would be a fun way for us to wrap our time together with a little segment that we call fastball derby.

[32:07] Al Malafronte: All right.

[32:07] Mike Ford: All right. So it's like think of it like this. It's 9 a.m. in the morning again. Um, someone's throwing a hundred miles an hour. Like, we're gonna throw you a question, and you say the first thing that comes to your head.

[32:17] Mike Ford: For sure. Favorite New York City meal.

[32:19] Mike Ford: Uh, Italian. Or uh SDK, I like a lot too.

[32:26] Al Malafronte: So you have like a go-to Italian dish, or you kind of like try to mix it up, try new stuff every time.

[32:31] Mike Ford: Mix it up, and I I try to mix up the places too. Uh I don't even know the name of the place. It's on like uh 10th and 10th and 3rd, it's really good. Um, but yeah, try to mix it up different things, but Italians my go-to at all at all times.

[32:47] Al Malafronte: Most played song on your Spotify.

[32:52] Mike Ford: Probably wait and see, iration.

[32:55] Al Malafronte: Best stadium you got to play in outside of Yankee Stadium, Dodgers by far.

[33:00] Mike Ford: Just the atmosphere was crazy. It was just like Yankee Stadium, you know, the atmosphere here doesn't isn't comparable anywhere else other than that in that place.

[33:09] Al Malafronte: So for me, that was that was the one. It helps that you guys won two out of three in that series, too.

[33:13] Mike Ford: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And everywhere we go, the Yankees fans travel so well. That's I mean, that's another awesome thing for us. We always have support. So we went out there and we're, you know, playing the Dodgers. It's a big environment. So that was fun.

[33:27] Al Malafronte: Most challenging pitcher you had to face.

[33:29] Mike Ford: Oh, I got asked this the other day. Um, my most uncomfortable bullet bat was probably the closer for the Angels, because he does some double leg kicks, different things like that. But uh, you know, getting to face like Kershaw was awesome, you know, a guy I guy I grew up watching, and those are kind of the coolest ones to me. Um, and uh yeah, you just take it in.

[33:54] Al Malafronte: I was gonna say two things. I guess the Angels closer you're talking about is Hansel Robles.

[33:58] Mike Ford: Is that Robles, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[33:59] Al Malafronte: And you're a rookie and you're a lefty, and they said you have to face Clayton Kershaw. That must have been ridiculous.

[34:05] Mike Ford: Yeah, I was like, for me, that was a cool moment because it was like, you know, I've watched this guy so much. But um, yeah, it was like definitely like, okay, just try to get a fastball. So that you don't have to see the breaking ball.

[34:17] Al Malafronte: Player that you idolized the most growing up.

[34:25] Mike Ford: I'd say Tino. Probably, yeah. Uh just because it was the same thing. Right-handed thrower, first baseman, left-handed hitter. Just kind of matched up. And getting to meet him now and and kind of work with him throughout the minor leagues has been like awesome because he's the same guy, really super nice, helpful. Like when you meet your idol or like one of your idols and they're awesome to you, it's an awesome thing. And you know, it can go a different way.

[34:52] Al Malafronte: One thing I was gonna ask you is because you're in a position now where you probably get to meet a lot of these guys that you looked up to growing up. Do you still get like intimidated or nervous to meet your heroes at the point that you're in?

[35:04] Mike Ford: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. I mean, not not nervous or intimidated, but just kind of like maybe a little bit shy. Um, you know, and uh just kind of stit in the back. Like they injured if they say something, then that's uh, you know, open, but uh yeah, a little bit a little bit shy.

[35:23] Al Malafronte: Proudest moment of your young and budding career.

[35:26] Mike Ford: Walk-off by far. Um just complete dream for me.

[35:32] Al Malafronte: Thing you're looking forward to most about next season.

[35:37] Mike Ford: Really, really would like to, you know, um, really would like to just help the team win, get to get to a world series and try to stick around. Um I'm gonna do everything I can to be there uh and try to help. But uh obviously there's some decisions sometimes that have to happen. So uh for me it's just about staying there now and and trying to help the team win.

[35:58] Al Malafronte: And lastly, best piece of advice anyone ever gave you.

[36:06] Mike Ford: Don't quit. My you know, my dad uh in a few occasions. Uh he actually drove to Binghamton one time in 2007. 17, yeah. I had gotten sent from triple A to double A. Terrible game. I was like, I think I'm done, I think I'm good. Like, and he was like, no, I'm driving up, met me the next day, and he was just like, can't quit. Um I was like, okay.

[36:39] Al Malafronte: Wow.

[36:39] Mike Ford: Yeah, it was that profound.

[36:40] Al Malafronte: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I I remember that day distinctly. Do you still seek him out for you know advice here and there throughout the season?

[36:47] Mike Ford: Uh he'll probably say I'm pretty stubborn, so no, but uh, you know, he throws in little things when he can. Uh, he know he knows how to work with me at this point.

[36:56] Al Malafronte: Dude, the father-son relationship with baseball is just I mean that's something that got me into it as a kid and that's um it's the ultimate and the fact that you know it sounds like your dad was really instrumental in helping you get to where you were and obviously the hard work that you put into it it just makes it makes it so fun for us as Yankee fans you know to have guys like you in the majors and uh you know having the success that you have.

[36:56] Mike Ford: No thank you and yeah I mean probably my best advice is just surround yourself with good support system like that's always there for you and good people it doesn't have to be family it could be friends it could be anyone but as long as you have that everything's gonna be okay the majority of the time.

[36:56] Al Malafronte: Yeah, absolutely it served you really well Mike yeah thank you thank you Mike can't thank you enough for coming on today buddy I really appreciate you guys having me it's a lot of fun yeah anytime and that'll close out the ball game here on break a bat uh we're looking forward to a great round of holiday shows these next few weeks we'll see you next time thanks for listening to break a bat this is produced by the fine folks at the Broadway podcast network visit and subscribe at BPN dot fm slash break a bat you can find me online at break underscore a underscore bat underscore podcast and you can also find the Broadway podcast network on Instagram at Broadway Podcast Network.