Duane Ward was one of those Braves of the 80's that I thought if he stayed with the team he would have become one of my favorite players. A 6 ft 4 in right-hander he was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round of the 1982 draft. His first few years in the organization he was used exclusively as a starter and wasn't too successful at it with a couple of shutouts but consistently high ERA's. Returning with the big club from Spring Training in 1986 the 21-year-old Ward threw a 90-plus fastball with a strong slider. His career blossomed when he was moved to the bullpen midway through the 85 season. He was voted the Southern League's top pitching prospect by managers and scouts. I loved the sight of a tall right-hander who threw hard and three-quarters. Unfortunately, Ward was traded by the Braves to the Blue Jays in July of 1986 along with Joe Johnson for Doyle Alexander and Jim Acker. The Jays GM had to deny suggestions that the team was throwing in the towel. Johnson did little for Toronto and Acker about the same for the Braves. However, Alexander was traded the next year to Detroit for John Smoltz.
After two slow seasons shuttling between the minors and Toronto Ward's breakthrough year was 1988 when he went 9-3 with a 3.30 ERA over 64 games. The next two years were struggles for consistency but in 1991he led the league in appearances with 81, saved 23 games and had a WAR of 2.6. Two more great season followed with his brilliant 93 with 45 saves and an ERA of 2.13. Having already had two rough post-seasons in 89 and 91, 92 got off to an equally rocky start. A 1-0 record but an ERA of 6.75 didn't stop Toronto from beating the A's and facing Atlanta in the World Series. In four appearances he was 2-0 with no runs allowed in 3.1 innings pitched. 93 witnessed another terrible ALCS against the White Sox but he was superb in the World Series again going 1-0 with 2 saves and an ERA of 1.93 over 4.2 innings. And then his arm pretty much fell off.
Spring of 94 developed biceps tendinitis. Ward missed all of 1994 and most of 95 with an injured right shoulder. He had surgery on July 8, 1994. Signed with the Cubs in the spring of 96 and pitched in the minors but it was obvious he wasn't the same. Another attempt at a comeback in 97 with the Rangers quickly ended with a DUI arrest . For six season he was a very good reliever and for three years he was lights out brilliant. At the age of 29, his career was all but over due to shoulder troubles and number of innings and appearances he was making.
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