Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Fame Starting Pitcher, Whitey Ford. In a career that lasted 16 seasons playing for one team, the New York Yankees, Ford established himself as not only the greatest Starter in Yankees franchise history but also as one of the greatest Left Handed Pitchers the game has ever seen. Ford found himself on the big stage in the world’s greatest city, New York, during the prime of his career. Ford, being a native New Yorker, found himself with a lot of individual and team success. 

Career Statistics/Accolades (1950; 53-67):

236-106 W-L 2.75 ERA 3,170.1 IP 1,956 K 1.215 WHIP

  • 10x All-Star
  •  6x World Series Champion
  • 1961 Cy Young Award
  • 1961 World Series MVP

You can make the case that Whitey Ford was a little overshadowed when you consider that he was playing with guys like Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle in his career. However, almost every great team that wins multiple championships in a period needs an ace for the rotation. Whitey Ford was an ace; he led the league in Wins three times, led in ERA & Innings Pitched twice, and certainly had a ten-year-plus period of which he was either the or one of the five best starters in all of baseball. Ford was never known as a power fastball type of pitcher. Instead, he had a variety of pitches and, along with his excellent control, made him dominant.

“(Ford) is always around the plate. He’s so easy to catch I could do it sitting in a rocking chair.” -Yogi Berra.

Also, Ford wasn’t known for striking out a lot of batters. However, in critical spots, he was known for striking out guys. Looking at his year-by-year numbers, I’m stunned that he didn’t receive more respect in terms of being in Cy Young Award voting. I understand that they only handed out one between the two leagues until 1967, but still, in 1958, even with a 2.01 ERA, he wasn’t even in the top-5. He eventually won the Cy Young in 1961, going 25-4, and winning the MVP of the 1961 World Series. As I said, the prime years of his career saw him and the Yankees in the World Series eleven times.

World Series Stats (22 Starts):

10-8 W-L 2.71 ERA 146 IP 1.137 WHIP 3 SHO 7 CG

There’s no debate on who is the greatest starting pitcher in Yankees franchise history; it’s Ford. He is still the Yankees franchise leader in Wins (236). I’d also be reminiscing if I didn’t mention that in 1951-52, Ford missed his age 22-23 seasons as he spent those years in the US ARMY. So, when you consider that he pitched well in his rookie season in 1950, he lost a couple of prime years, which could’ve buffered his overall numbers and missed out on two additional Yankee World Series titles. His lifetime 2.75 ERA is the third lowest among starting pitchers whose careers began after the Live Ball Era in 1920. Also, the highest ERA he ever had was 3.24 at 36. I think that when we discuss who are the 20 greatest Starting Pitchers or even who are the Greatest Left-Handers of all time, Whitey Ford’s name should be brought up. It took until his second year of eligibility, but in 1974, alongside longtime teammate and friend Mickey Mantle, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That same year, the Yankees retired his #16 jersey and a plaque in Monument Park. The Sporting News understood how great Ford was as a pitcher, and they ranked him #52 on their list of the 100 Greatest Ballplayers in baseball history in 1999.

References:

  1. Whitey Ford via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Ford#
  2. Whitey Ford Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fordwh01.shtml
  3. Whitey Ford – BR Bullpen via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Whitey_Ford