EXCLUSIVE: A new hope? Meet Harrison Ford, Great Britain’s talisman looking to lead their first crusade to baseball glory

“My parents say they didn’t name me after him, but I think they’re lying,” laughs Harrison Ford, answering Mail Sport’s obvious opening question about his famous namesake.

The Seattle Mariners and Great Britain baseball star further states that he is a fan of Indiana Jones. But this interview is not intended to discuss the films of an 81-year-old actor. Instead, we’re here to talk about a blockbuster in which the 20-year-old Ford hopes to star in the home of Hollywood: the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“It would be an honor to join,” says the catcher – known as Harry Ford – about the prospect of playing for Team GB in LA28 now that baseball has been added to the schedule.

‘I definitely never saw myself at an Olympic Games. It would be very special,” he says.

Special is also a word many would use to describe Ford, one of the most popular players in Major League Baseball. Born and raised in Atlanta, he was signed by the Mariners straight out of high school for $4.36 million in the first round of the 2021 draft.

Ford, 20, never saw himself at the Olympics but now has his sights set on LA2028

And it just so happens that he is eligible to play for Great Britain because his mother Deborah was born in London and his father Alan is from Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

“My dad’s whole family still lives there,” Ford says. ‘So I went back a few times to stay with my grandmother. I love good fish and chips!’

However, the fact that Ford has started wearing a GB jersey is only down to a chance conversation last year in which Mariners coach Brad Marcelino, a former England international, attacked. “One day we were talking and he asked me where I was from,” Ford explains.

‘I told him my parents were English. He said, “Are you kidding me?” and started talking to me about the GB team and how they had qualifying tournaments for the World Baseball Classic at the end of the year.

“He said, ‘We should get you involved in that,’ I said, ‘Sure, sounds cool’ – and the rest is history. It’s been a great ride.’ Ford made his GB debut against France last September, hitting the first of his three home runs in three games to help his country qualify for the World Baseball Classic – the sport’s World Cup – for the first time. At the tournament in March, he impressed with two more home runs and his hilarious celebration in which teammates dressed him in royal robes and crown. “We came up with that idea one day in a meeting and then went to Walmart and bought all the stuff,” Ford grins.

The celebration captured the imagination in Great Britain. The day after his home run in the team’s historic victory over Columbia, a video emerged from an elementary school in Suffolk. It showed a boy who was introduced at the assembly as “home run hero, Sir Harry Ford,” then received a standing ovation from his classmates when he walked in wearing a Ford face mask, jacket and crown.

“I remember seeing that after the game,” says Ford after Mail Sport played him the clip via Zoom. ‘That really warmed my heart. It’s cool to know that all those kids even know that’s me. That means they watch the games and they are involved in baseball.’

Ford had the most runs batted in and the most stolen bases at the European Championship

By beating Colombia, Great Britain finished in the top four of their pool and qualified for the next World Baseball Classic in 2026. However, reaching the 2028 Olympics is more difficult, with only six teams in LA, and probably only one from Europe. .

However, Great Britain’s young squad reached the final of this fall’s European Championship, with Ford finishing the tournament with the most runs batted in and the most bases stolen.

“Our goal was to get into the top five, so we exceeded that,” Ford said. ‘We faced a really good team from Spain in the final, but second place was really good for GB. We showed that we are not just messing around, but that we are a good team and can play with the best. The Olympics aren’t until 2028, so we still have a lot of time. I’m hopeful we’ll be there.”

By then, Ford could be an MLB superstar. Playing in the sport’s elite competition has been his dream since he first picked up a bat as a three-year-old. And two years ago, that dream took a big step closer to realization when the Mariners selected him with the 12th overall selection in the draft.

“Even though you dream about it, you never think about it being a reality,” he says. “When I was 17, I remember there was a mock draft of who they think the teams will pick, and I saw my name in the first round. I was amazed. I thought, “Oh my god, this could really happen.”

“When it finally happened, it felt amazing. When all you hear is your name called on TV, there’s nothing better. I had a lot of family and friends there and we had a really big party. My phone blew up. It changed my life.’

So what was it about Ford that meant twenty MLB scouts would come to watch his high school games? As the player himself says: ‘I’m a very good hitter. I catch the ball well. I’m walking well.’ In other words, Ford is the whole package. In the United States he is described as a ‘unicorn’ because of his unusual speed for a catcher. “I’m definitely a little different,” he admits.

Ford has been described as a ‘unicorn’ in the US because of his unusual speed for a catcher

Since signing with the Mariners, Ford has been sent out to gain experience with their Minor Leagues affiliates. He speaks to Mail Sport from the dressing room of his current team Peoria Javelinas, who play in the Arizona Fall League. So when should we expect him to make his MLB bow?

“In this industry you never know 100 percent,” he says. ‘At the Mariners we have catchers who really deserve their position. So it will no matter how long it takes. But I just want to see how far I can go with my God-given talent and be the best I can be.”

There are clearly no limits to Ford’s ambition and one of his goals is to play an MLB game in London, which has been hosting regular season games since 2019. that one,” says Ford. “The whole family could go and see it, so that would be great.”

However, playing in the former London Olympic Stadium in 2012 would be one thing. Playing at the Games themselves in Los Angeles would be something different. “GB has to be there,” he adds. With Ford in their team they have every chance.