Ford was picked 18th overall in the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland Athletics.
He spent four years in the minor league system for the Athletics before he was traded on October 23, 1974 to the Twins with Dennis Myers for Pat Bourque.
For the next four seasons, Ford was a regular in the Twins' lineup.
In his second season, he hit the first home run at the rebuilt Yankee Stadium on April 15, 1976.
On August 10, 1979, Ford hit for the cycle for the Angels against the Seattle Mariners.

On December 4, 1978, Ford was traded to the Angels for Danny Goodwin and Ron Jackson.
Three seasons later, he was traded to the Orioles for Doug DeCinces and Jeff Schneider.
The Orioles had tried to trade for Ford previously, but were unable to after the Angels originally picked him up.
Early in the Orioles' 1983 championship season, on May 19, Ford had homered in the eighth inning at Baltimore against Richard Dotson, as the only hit in a 1-0 defeat of the Chicago White Sox, whom the Orioles would eventually face in the 1983 American League Championship Series.
Ford later hit a home run off Philadelphia Phillies' Steve Carlton for the Orioles in Game 3 of the 1983 World Series.
Ford was picked 18th overall in the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland Athletics. He spent four years in the minor league system for the Athletics before he was traded on October 23, 1974 to the Twins with Dennis Myers for Pat Bourque. For the next four seasons, Ford was a regular in the Twins' lineup. In his second season, he hit the first home run at the rebuilt Yankee Stadium on April 15, 1976. On August 10, 1979, Ford hit for the cycle for the Angels against the Seattle Mariners.
On December 4, 1978, Ford was traded to the Angels for Danny Goodwin and Ron Jackson. Three seasons later, he was traded to the Orioles for Doug DeCinces and Jeff Schneider. The Orioles had tried to trade for Ford previously, but were unable to after the Angels originally picked him up. Early in the Orioles' 1983 championship season, on May 19, Ford had homered in the eighth inning at Baltimore against Richard Dotson, as the only hit in a 1-0 defeat of the Chicago White Sox, whom the Orioles would eventually face in the 1983 American League Championship Series. Ford later hit a home run off Philadelphia Phillies' Steve Carlton for the Orioles in Game 3 of the 1983 World Series.
Dan Ford