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Gary Lamell Ward (born December 6, 1953 in Los Angeles, California) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Minnesota Twins (1979-83), Texas Rangers (1984-86), New York Yankees (1987-89) and Detroit Tigers (1989-90).
Ward was signed by the Twins as an amateur free agent in 1972 and made his debut in the 1979 season. He is the father of major leaguer Daryle Ward.
A clutch hitter, Ward was best when hitting to all fields. He was named American League Rookie of the Year by Baseball Digest in 1981 and followed as Twins Player of the Year and Most Improved Player in 1982. That season he batted .289, with 28 home runs, 91 runs batted in and a .519 of slugging average. In 1983 he hit .278, 19, 88, and led all outfielders with 24 assists, the most for an AL outfielder since 1944. He was traded to the Rangers at the end of the season.
In his first season with Texas Ward hit .284, 21, 79, and set a club season-record with seven triples and a personal high with 97 runs scored. He led the Rangers in batting in 1985 and 1986 (.287, .316), then signed with the Yankees as a free agent. He had great first half in 1987 but slumped badly upon trying to pull everything. The following two seasons he was a part-time player and was sent to Detroit in the 1989 mid-season.
A twice All-Star (1983, 1985), Ward finished his career in 1990 batting .276, with 130 home runs, 597 RBI, 594 runs, 196 doubles, 41 triples and 83 stolen bases in 1287 games played.
Highlight
- On September 18, 1980 Gary Ward become the sixth Twins player to hit for the cycle. The Twins lose 98 to the Milwaukee Brewers, wasting Ward's effort. On May 26, 2004 his son, Daryle, will repeat the feat guiding the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the Cardinals. Ward joined his father to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.
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