Duane Ward, Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays of 1992 and ’93 were so loaded with greatly talented offensive players that their forgotten star, reliever Duane Ward, has truly flown under the radar in terms of fan memories outside of Toronto, and perhaps even there for some.
Part of this may result from the fact that Ward’s career was cut short by injury almost immediately after the Jays’ back-to-back World Series titles. However, for a seeming moment or two, Ward was one of the most effective relief pitchers in MLB history.
Ward came into the 1992 season with a decent track record as a reliever but no especially flashy numbers, aside from his MLB-leading 81 appearances and 2.77 ERA in ’91. He had been something of a workhorse, and had accumulated an average of 16 saves for four straight years, largely as a set-up man for Tom Henke.
He threw hard, consistently in the low to mid-nineties, with “good, heavy life.” The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder, however, had been a 9th overall pick a decade earlier, and one has to wonder if he was satisfied with his overall performance.
In the year of the Jays’ first world championship, he once again set up Henke, but surely opened some eyes with his sterling 1.95 ERA. His FIP figure suggested he got some help defensively, but was still a very good 2.58. He won 7 games in the regular season and saved 12.
The following year, however, he took over as the Jays closer from Henke, and truly dominated his opposition, leading the AL with 45 saves while booking a 2.13 ERA. That season the FIP figure (2.09) suggested he was slightly better than his fielders. He was an All-Star and finished fifth in the Cy Young voting.
Ward was at his best in the World Series as well, first against the Braves, the team that had originally drafted him, and then against the Phillies. In eight appearances in the two Fall Classics, he posted a 3-0 record and 1.13 ERA, striking out 13 in eight innings. He also saved two games.
However, after the 1993 World Series the right-hander never saved another game, a result of biceps tendinitis. He retired after appearing in just four games for Toronto in 1995.
Nonetheless, Duane Ward will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this coming June, having been elected in 2020. Thus, weirdly, his proper place in MLB history was affected by COVID decades after he had retired.