Twins Blog: It's Lew Ford Appreciation Day!
It's time to take this day away from all the slackers and haters. It's time to focus on what is really important: Lew Ford's contribution to the Minnesota Twins.
It started seven years ago ... give or take. When Lew wasn't ironing the shirts he was wearing, he was playing every day for an injured Shannon Stewart. After a few big games, the Dome crowd would bellow a loud, drawn out LEEEEEEWWWWWW each time his name was announced.
He led the team in batting average midway through the 2004 season. He was grouped with Hideki Matsui, Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko and Travis Hafner in the Last Man Standing All-Star Voting.
The Lew Fandom took ahold of me. An authentic, alternate home Ford jersey was my first ever purchased.
Lew didn't last long after that. The numbers declined and the errors increased. The last straw was when Lew allowed Prince Fielder to get an inside the park homer in 2007.
Although it was brief, Lew's impact on the Twins has been loud and drawn out.
Without Lew, Target Field would never hear the long, bellowing cheers for DREWWWWWWW, KUUUUUUUUUUUUUBES or LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE.
When the team is injured, sick or broken we need guys like Lew who can step up and pretend to be all-stars ... even if it's for only half a season.
After playing in Japan and Mexico, Lew is now in Long Island playing for the Ducks, an independent team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Their season starts next Friday.
Happy Ford 20 Day!
