Daryle Ward

Daryle Lamar Ward (born June 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder.

The elder Ward accomplished the feat on September 18, 1980, for the Minnesota Twins.

Ward came to the Houston Astros in December 1996 as part of a ten-player trade with Detroit.

He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2008 for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs.

He is the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward.

Daryle Ward is currently the Hitting Coach for the Chattanooga Lookouts in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

He won the 1999 AAA Home Run Derby in his home stadium of Zephyr Field in New Orleans.

The next day, he hit a 3-run home run in the All Star Game, leading the PCL to victory after joining the team as a last minute replacement.

His home run outshone Russell Branyan's solo home run in the same game.

He debuted in 1999, hitting 8 home runs in 150 at bats.

In 2000, he hit 20 home runs in just 264 at-bats.

In his third season for the Astros, Ward batted .263 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI in 95 games.

He was the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle since Jason Kendall on May 19, 2000, against the Cardinals.

Ward joined his father, Gary, to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.

The next year, 2002, he batted .276 with 12 home runs and 72 RBIs in 136 games.

He 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.

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.

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.

After the season the Astros traded Ward to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On August 31, 2006, Ward was traded to the Atlanta Braves for minor-league pitcher Luis Atilano.

Ward was signed on December 7, 2006 by the Chicago Cubs to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million after hitting .308 with a .380 OBP in 2006 for Washington and Atlanta in 150 combined plate appearances.

He replaced John Mabry as a backup at 1st base to Derrek Lee.

On May 6, Ward hit a game-winning single against his former team, the Washington Nationals.

He was also called to replace Derrek Lee on May 13, after Lee left the game with neck spasms.

Ward also saw time as a pinch hitter in close game situations.

On August 18 Ward hit a grand slam in the third inning off of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes, the third of his career and his first home run as a member of the Cubs.

Ward finished the season with a career-high .327 batting average in 110 at-bats.

On August 15, Ward launched a three-run pinch-hit homer with one out in the ninth inning to lift the Cubs to a 6–5 victory over the Florida Marlins for their ninth straight road win.

The Cubs had lost their last 10 games at that stadium.

He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Ward finished the season with a .216 batting average, the second lowest of his career.

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 home runs, 254 RBI, 155 runs, 80 doubles and four triples, with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .306 and slugging percentage (SLG) of .447.

After being called up from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to replace Raúl Mondesí, Ward got off to a torrid start.

On July 6 of that year, he became the first player to hit a home run out of Pittsburgh's PNC Park and into the Allegheny River "on the fly" during a regular-season game (the other player being Garrett Jones with a 463-foot home run on June 2, 2013); the shot, a grand slam, came off Pittsburgh's Kip Wells.

(They were later joined by Craig and Cavan Biggio on September 17, 2019 as the only 2 father and son duos to hit for the cycle in MLB history.) Ward slumped later in the season, slowed down by a wrist injury, and finished hitting .249 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI, with a .306 OBP and .474 SLG.

Ward, along with Valerio de los Santos, signed a deal to play with the Nationals.