Duane Ward

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Ward was from Farmington, New Mexico, where he played amateur baseball programs in the American Amateur Baseball Congress and Connie Mack World Series. He was drafted out of high school in the first round, ninth overall, of the 1982 draft. Ward made his MLB debut with the Braves in 1986 and was traded to the Blue Jays that year. After emerging as one of baseball's top setup men, he was an All-Star as a closer in 1993, when he led the American League with a franchise-record 45 saves and was a member of the 1992 and 1993 World Series championship teams. His 452 appearances and 121 saves for Toronto rank second in franchise history. Ward was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.

In Their Own Story

In 1991, Ward led the major leagues with 81 appearances, posting a 2.77 ERA and 23 saves with a career-high 132 strikeouts, and finished ninth in American League Cy Young Award voting. He recorded a career-best 1.95 ERA in 79 appearances in 1992, and in that year's World Series against the Braves he won two of the four games in which he appeared without allowing a run, as the Blue Jays captured their first championship. After Henke departed in free agency, Ward took over as closer in 1993 and set Toronto's single-season team record for saves with 45, along with a club record 70 games finished, posting a 2.13 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 71⅔ innings. He was tied with Jeff Montgomery for most saves in the American League, closed the 1993 All-Star Game, and finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting. In the 1993 World Series, Ward earned two saves and was the winning pitcher in the decisive Game 6, in which Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run after Ward pitched in relief. In eight career World Series appearances across 1992 and 1993, Ward went 3–0 with a 1.13 ERA and two saves.

Reader's Guide

Ward attended Farmington High School in Farmington, New Mexico, where he played baseball for the Scorpions. On the competitive amateur circuit, he played in the American Amateur Baseball Congress leagues and the Connie Mack World Series; his plaque hangs in the tournament's hall of fame at Ricketts Park in Farmington. Ward also helped lead the Scorpions basketball team to a 26–0 season and the state Class 4A championship in 1981–82. The Atlanta Braves selected Ward in the first round, ninth overall, of the 1982 MLB draft, shortly after his senior season. He is tied with Jim Kremmel (1971) for the second-highest draft pick of players hailing from New Mexico, behind shortstop Alex Bregman, who was selected with the second pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft. Primarily a starting pitcher during a four-season rise through the Braves' farm system, with stops in rookie ball and at Anderson, Durham, Greenville and Triple-A Richmond, Ward was converted to relief pitching by manager Chuck Tanner, who told him he saw 'so much of Goose Gossage' in him. Ward made his MLB debut with the Braves on April 12, 1986, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in a 4–3 road loss to the Houston Astros; the game matched his childhood idol, Nolan Ryan, against Braves starter Rick Mahler, with Ward's parents in attendance. After posting a 7.31 earned run average (ERA) in 16 innings, he was optioned to Triple-A Richmond in early June, and a month later, on July 6, the Braves traded the 22-year-old to the Toronto Blue Jays for veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander. Ward became one of the Jays' most dependable middle and late inning relievers after breaking into the major league bullpen in 1988, when he went 9–3 with a 3.30 ERA and 15 saves over 111⅔ innings in 64 appearances. Standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m), his pitching repertoire featured a mid-90s fastball and a hard, sweeping slider, and he regularly pitched more than one inning while appearing in 65 to 80 games a season. He remained in the setup role ahead of closer Tom Henke through the 1992 season. Toronto had previously reached the American League Championship Series in 1989 and 1991, losing to the Oakland Athletics and the Minnesota Twins respectively. In 1991, Ward led the major leagues with 81 appearances, posting a 2.77 ERA and 23 saves with a career-high 132 strikeouts, and finished ninth in American League Cy Young Award

Did You Know?

• Ward was drafted ninth overall in the 1982 MLB draft, tied with Jim Kremmel for the second-highest draft pick from New Mexico.
• He led the American League with 45 saves in 1993, a franchise record that still stood at the time of his death.
• Ward was the closing pitcher for the American League in the 1993 All-Star Game, his only All-Star selection.
• He was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.