Pete Ward

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For other people named Peter Ward, see Peter Ward (disambiguation).

Pete Ward
Lake Oswego, Oregon, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 21, 1962, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
September 25, 1970, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Batting average.254
Home runs98
Runs batted in427
Teams
Member of the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1991

Peter Thomas Ward (July 26, 1937 – March 16, 2022) was a Canadian-born

player who appeared in 973 games over nine seasons in Major League Baseball as a third baseman, outfielder and first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (1962), Chicago White Sox (1963–1969) and New York Yankees (1970
).

Ward was the runner-up for the

Most Valuable Player poll in both 1963 (ninth) and 1964 (sixth).[3]

Early life

Ward batted

Montréal, he was the son of former National Hockey League forward Jimmy Ward, who played 11 seasons for the Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadiens, and who later became a longtime coach in professional and amateur hockey in Portland, Oregon.[4] Pete Ward attended Portland's Jefferson High School and played college baseball at Lewis & Clark College
.

Playing career

Ward signed with the Orioles in 1958 as a

at bats
.

On January 14, 1963, he was included in one of the off-season's biggest transactions when the Orioles traded him, future Hall of Fame pitcher

runs batted in
, as the White Sox battled the Yankees and Orioles to the wire before finishing second by a single game.

Ward's production fell off in 1965, when he hit only .247 in 138 games and, troubled by a back injury, he would fail to reach the .250 mark for the rest of his Chicago tenure. He appeared in only 84 games in 1966, and although he was able to play regularly as the White Sox' left fielder in 1967 and third baseman in 1968, only his power numbers (18 and 15 home runs) remained robust. He was traded to the Yankees in December 1969 for pitcher Mickey Scott and played a single season for the 1970 Yankees as a pinch hitter and back-up first baseman to Danny Cater, a former White Sox teammate. For his nine-year MLB career, Ward amassed 776 hits, including 136 doubles, 17 triples and 98 home runs; he batted .254 with 427 career runs batted in.

He related that during his tenure with the Sox, his team engaged in sign stealing that involved a scout on a chair next to the flagpole at center field with binoculars that would signal a pitch based on if he sat on the chair, stood up, or leaned on a pole, although Ward stated that it would sometimes mess up a hitter's swing. [5]

Manager and coach

Ward remained with the Yankees as a minor-league manager (1972–1977), then coached for one season (1978) for Bobby Cox with the Atlanta Braves, before returning to the minors, where he eventually managed his hometown Portland Beavers.[6] He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame,[7] and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Ward died on March 16, 2022, at the age of 84.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Chisox Gary Peters Named As the AL's Best Rookie". news.google.com. Lawrence Journal-World. November 29, 1963. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Deitsch, Richard (July 31, 2000). "Pete Ward, Almost On SI's Cover JUNE 7, 1965". Vault. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  3. Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Greatest Hockey Legends: Jimmy Ward
  5. ^ "Long Before Astros, 1960s White Sox Did Real-Time Sign-Stealing". Forbes.
  6. ^ "PIL Hall of Fame Cyber Museum: Pete Ward". Portland Interscholastic Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  7. ^ "Pete Ward | Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum". baseballhalloffame.ca. Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. July 30, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. ^ R.I.P. Pete Ward

External links

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