Daryle Ward
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Chicago Cubs — No. 12 | |
| First Baseman | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 14, 1998 for the Houston Astros | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| AVG | .262 |
| HR | 83 |
| RBI | 343 |
| Teams | |
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Daryle Ward (born June 27, 1975 in Lynwood, California) is a Major League Baseball outfielder/first baseman for the Chicago Cubs. He bats and throws left-handed.
The 6-foot-2, 240 pound (109 kg) Ward was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1994 amateur draft. He is the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward.
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[edit] Career
Ward came to the Houston Astros in December 1996 as part of a ten-player trade with Detroit. He debuted in 2000, hitting 20 home runs in just 264 at-bats. In his second season for the Astros, Ward batted .263 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI in 95 games. The next year he went for .276, 12, 72 in 136 games. After the season he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ward spent 2003 in a part-time role, hitting .183 with one extra base hit (a double) in 109 at-bats. After the season, the Dodgers released Ward, and the Pirates signed him as a minor league free agent. Ward played better in 2004, and the Pirates re-signed him for 2005 as their part-time first baseman. Ward has signed on to become a member of the Chicago Cubs bench for 2007.
In 549 career games played, Ward has batted .259 (384-1485), with 65 HRs, 254 RBI, 155 runs, 80 doubles and four triples, with an on base percentage (OBP) of .306 and slugging percentage (SLG) of .447.
[edit] 2004 season
After being called up from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to replace Raúl Mondesí, Ward got off to a torrid start. On May 26, 2004, Ward, recalled from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds two weeks before, hit for the cycle and tied his career high with six RBI in the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Ward hit a two-run double in the first, an RBI triple in the fourth, golfed a three-run homer in the fifth and singled in the ninth. He was the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle since Jason Kendall on May 19, 2000, against the Cardinals. It has been done 23 times in club history and 243 times since 1882.
Ward joined his father, Gary, to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle. The older Ward accomplished the feat on September 18, 1980, for the Minnesota Twins.
Ward slumped later in the season, slowed down by a wrist injury, and finished hitting .249 with 15 HR and 57 RBI, with a .306 OBP and .474 SLG.
Ward recently signed a deal to play with the Nationals, along with Valerio de los Santos.
[edit] 2006 season
On August 31, 2006, Ward was traded to the Atlanta Braves for minor-league pitcher Luis Atilano.
[edit] 2007 season
Signed on Dec 7, 2006 by the Chicago Cubs for a one year deal worth $1.05M after hitting .308 with a .380 OBP in 2006 for Washington and Atlanta in 150 plate appearances. He may replace John Mabry as backup at 1st base for Derrek Lee.
[edit] Trivia
Ward is the only player to hit a home run out of Pittsburgh's PNC Park and into the Allegheny River on the fly—a truly "Stargellesque" blast—in a regular season game, a feat he accomplished in 2003 as a member of the Houston Astros. Many Home Runs have made the river on the bounce, and several home runs hit during the 2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby made the river on the fly as well, creating speculation of juiced balls.
