Roy Duane Ward (born May 28, 1964) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

who played with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Ward went to school and made his early athletic mark in Farmington, New Mexico, a small oil and gas city, and one known for its amateur baseball programs. Ward thrived in the American Amateur Baseball Congress-sponsored baseball leagues and graduated from Farmington High School, home of the Scorpions. He was drafted out of high school in 1982. Ward also starred in the Connie Mack World Series, a baseball tournament for 18-and-under players that has been hosted in Farmington since 1965. Since 1988, Ward has lived in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Early career

A hard-throwing

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, Ward was drafted with the ninth pick in the 1st round of the 1982 amateur draft by the

. He is tied with Jim Kremmel (1971) for the second-highest draft pick of players hailing from New Mexico, behind shortstop

Alex Bregman Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros. As a high school sophomore at Albu ...

, who was selected with the second pick in the first round of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He made his major league debut on April 12, 1986, but after limited success was traded to the

on July 6 for pitcher Doyle Alexander.

Setup man

Ward became one of the Jays' most dependable middle and late inning relievers in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, and remained in the role through the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

season, when the Blue Jays won their first

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. His pitching repertoire featured a lively, mid-90s fastball and a hard slider.

Closer

After years of being in

Tom Henke Thomas Anthony Henke (born December 21, 1957), nicknamed "the Terminator", is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared closers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, pitching for the Tex ...

's shadow, Ward took over the closer's role in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. In the regular season, Ward set Toronto's single-season team record for saves with 45. He was tied with Jeff Montgomery of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

for most saves in the American League. Ward was the closing pitcher for the American League in its 9–3 victory at the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In helping the Blue Jays repeat as World Series Champions in 1993 Ward reached the peak of his career and, unexpectedly, the last significant duty of his career. In the

1993 World Series The 1993 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 90th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the defending World Series champion and American League (AL) cham ...

, Ward earned two saves over Philadelphia, in Game 1 (8–5 save, in Toronto) and in the wild Toronto 15–14 victory in Game 4 in Philadelphia, when Ward got the last four outs after Toronto scored the final six runs of the game. Ward was the winning pitcher for the decisive Game 6 in which

Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays ...

hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

after Ward pitched in relief. The rest of Ward's career was beset by injuries and he would never save another Major League game after 1993.Toronto Blue Jays Calendar (Page-a-Day) March 14, 2011 After missing the entire

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

season due to

biceps The biceps or biceps brachii (, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle bel ...

tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

, he retired from the

after pitching just four games during the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

season. He finished his career with a 3.28

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

and 121 saves.

Broadcasting

Since 2014, Ward has been featured on the Blue Jays' radio broadcasts for Sportsnet 590 The Fan. He occasionally fills in for regular colour commentator Joe Siddall.

References

External links