Duane Ward, the relief pitcher whose arm was essential to the Toronto Blue Jays' back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, died Sunday of natural causes in Toronto. He was 62.
Ward had traveled to Toronto for Saturday's unveiling of a statue outside Rogers Centre honoring the franchise's historic championship run. The gathering drew more than two dozen former players, coaches and front office figures.
"Duane will be deeply missed by our fans, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family," the Blue Jays organization said in a statement. "Duane will always be a cherished part of the Blue Jays family, and we will be forever grateful for his contributions to our organization and to baseball in Canada."
Before Sunday's game against the Chicago White Sox, the team held a moment of silence in Ward's honor, playing a montage on the Rogers Centre videoboard and pausing the first pitch ceremony to mark his passing.
Ward was traded to Toronto from the Atlanta Braves in the middle of the 1986 season. The Braves had drafted him straight out of Farmington High School in New Mexico in 1982. Over nine seasons with the Blue Jays, Ward developed into one of the most reliable relievers in franchise history.
His peak came during the 1993 championship season, when Ward appeared in 71 games and finished 70 of them — leading all of Major League Baseball in that category. He recorded 45 saves with a 2.13 ERA across 71.2 innings. The previous season, he posted a 1.95 ERA with 12 saves and 103 strikeouts in 101.1 innings pitched.
But it's Game 6 of the 1993 World Series that cemented Ward's place in Blue Jays lore. Though Joe Carter's walk-off home run against Philadelphia in the bottom of the ninth inning gets replayed endlessly in highlight reels, it was Ward who earned the victory that night. He shut the door in the eighth inning, setting the stage for Carter's heroics and giving Canada its first World Series champion.
In the postseason overall, Ward compiled a 1.13 ERA and two saves across his World Series appearances.
An arm injury ended Ward's 1994 season entirely. He attempted a comeback in 1995, pitching in four games, but never returned to the majors after that. His career totals — 462 games, 679 strikeouts, a 3.28 ERA across 666.2 innings — tell the story of a reliever whose impact far exceeded what raw statistics might suggest.
"Whether setting the stage in the eighth inning or closing out wins, he will be remembered for the role he played in some of the greatest moments in Blue Jays history," the team's statement concluded.
