It's Fan Feature Friday! This week, I'd like to introduce Shannon Ford. The name sounds familiar. Perhaps she's related to Whitey?
Meet Shannon Ford
When did you first become a Yankees fan? How old were you? What year was it? How did it come about?
The pinstripe blood, for me, runs deep. I was born into a family of diehard Yankee fans who didn't give me much of a choice. Both my grandparents and parents were diehard. My earliest memory as a fan was listening to a game from the backseat of the car. I must have been around five years old.
My nana watched every game until she passed away at 96.
Who is your favorite player of all-time?
My favorite player of all time is Jim Abbott - the fact that he played with one arm just blew my mind! Jim was born without a right hand, and though most would consider that a major disability, Jim did not see it that way, making it into the MLB with a career that spanned a whole decade. Jim pitched for the Yankees during the 1993-1994 seasons. On September 4, 1994, Jim pitched a no-hitter against the then-Cleveland Indians.
“As a kid I really wanted to fit in. Sports became a way for me to gain acceptance. I think this fueled my desire to succeed. I truly believe that difficult times and disappointments can push us to find abilities and strengths we wouldn’t know existed without the experience of struggle.” - Jim Abbott on his website on growing up with a disability.
Who is your favorite most underrated player?
My favorite underrated player is DJ LeMahieu. I don’t think he gets the attention he deserves. He literally always gets on base and never misses a ball in play. His above-average on-base percentage was among the best on the team last year at .357.
What is your most memorable moment as a fan?
My most memorable moment wasn’t a good one unfortunately. The dreadful 2004 postseason. I think we can all recall what happened in that harrowing ALCS when the Red Sox came back and won after we had a 3-0 lead on them. I was crushed. I did not take that well.
But a positive memorable moment was the 1996 World Series Championship!
What would you like to see in the 2023 season?
In 2023, please get rid of Donaldson and put DJ at 3rd. As far as the team, maybe Manager Aaron Boone needs to take a little bit of a different approach to his coaching style or something because the talent is there, but they haven’t been able to pull it off.
If you could sit down with any former Yankees player, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you talk about?
I would sit down with Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and ask him anything and everything about baseball. I'm sure he's got stories for days. After all, he was a 12-time All-Star selection with 3,110 hits, 465 home runs and 1,833 RBI.
Extra Innings
Shannon met Matt Carpenter in Rockefeller Center last summer and she has the selfie to prove it!
On-Deck
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