Gary Ward

Born: 12/6/1953 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1979-09-03 | Final Game: 1990-10-03

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 195 lbs

Full name: Gary Lamell Ward

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Biography

Gary Ward was a professional baseball player born in 1953, whose career spanned from 1979 to 1990. A versatile position player, he appeared in 1,287 games and made a significant impact during his time in Major League Baseball. Known for his solid batting skills, Ward finished his career with 1,236 hits and a batting average of .276. He demonstrated power at the plate with 130 home runs and drove in 597 runs, showcasing his ability to contribute offensively to his teams. In addition to his offensive prowess, Ward exhibited speed, accumulating 83 stolen bases throughout his career. Ward was selected as an All-Star twice, reflecting his status as one of the noteworthy players of his era. He played during a transformative time in baseball, where the game began to embrace a more dynamic offensive approach, and his contributions were instrumental in the evolution of the role of the position player. His career achievements solidified him as a respected figure in baseball history, and he remains a significant part of the legacy of the teams he represented.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1287	4479	594	1236	196	41	130	597	83	351	775	0.276	0.328	0.425	0.753	3719.1

Career AVG .276 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +6.4% above league average.

Career OBP .328 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .425 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — +9.4% above league average.

Career OPS 0.753 vs. league average 0.713 across their career seasons — +5.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1979	MIN	AL	10	14	2	4	0	0	0	1	0	3	3	0.286	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	MIN	AL	13	41	11	19	6	2	1	10	0	3	6	0.463	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	MIN	AL	85	295	42	78	7	6	3	29	5	28	48	0.264	.255 (+3%)	.320 (+2%)	.368 (-3%)	.688 (-1%)	-41.9
1982	MIN	AL	152	570	85	165	33	7	28	91	13	37	105	0.289	.261 (+11%)	.324 (+2%)	.388 (+34%)	.712 (+19%)	1893.8
1983	MIN	AL	157	623	76	173	34	5	19	88	8	44	98	0.278	.260 (+6%)	.324 (avg)	.389 (+13%)	.714 (+7%)	767.5
1984	TEX	AL	155	602	97	171	21	7	21	79	7	55	95	0.284	.259 (+9%)	.322 (+6%)	.384 (+16%)	.707 (+12%)	1397.5
1985	TEX	AL	154	593	77	170	28	7	15	70	26	39	97	0.287	.257 (+12%)	.323 (+2%)	.390 (+11%)	.714 (+7%)	662.5
1986	TEX	AL	105	380	54	120	15	2	5	51	12	31	72	0.316	.257 (+23%)	.325 (+14%)	.395 (+3%)	.720 (+8%)	646.7
1987	NYY	AL	146	529	65	131	22	1	16	78	9	33	101	0.248	.262 (-6%)	.331 (-12%)	.415 (-8%)	.746 (-10%)	-1157.1
1988	NYY	AL	91	231	26	52	8	0	4	24	0	24	41	0.225	.254 (-11%)	.317 (-5%)	.377 (-17%)	.695 (-12%)	-432.3
1989	NYY	AL	8	17	3	5	1	0	0	1	0	3	5	0.294	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	DET	AL	105	275	24	69	10	2	9	29	1	21	54	0.251	.254 (-1%)	.319 (-6%)	.375 (+7%)	.694 (+1%)	0.0
1990	DET	AL	106	309	32	79	11	2	9	46	2	30	50	0.256	.257 (-1%)	.324 (-1%)	.385 (+2%)	.710 (avg)	25.5

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	54	35	341	26	3	34
3B	2	0	0	1	0	0
OF	1094	1025	2436	81	41	21

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1979	MIN	OF	5	2	8	0	0	0
1980	MIN	OF	12	10	14	0	0	0
1981	MIN	OF	80	73	185	8	5	4
1982	MIN	OF	150	143	343	13	4	3
1983	MIN	OF	152	152	374	24	9	6
1984	TEX	OF	148	146	376	11	5	1
1985	TEX	OF	153	151	304	11	10	2
1986	TEX	OF	104	101	237	8	1	3
1987	NYA	1B	15	13	118	8	0	11
1987	NYA	OF	94	83	200	2	3	0
1988	NYA	1B	11	10	90	4	1	9
1988	NYA	3B	2	0	0	1	0	0
1988	NYA	OF	54	45	130	0	1	0
1989	NYA	OF	6	6	7	0	0	0
1989	DET	1B	26	12	126	14	2	14
1989	DET	OF	51	36	101	2	1	1
1990	DET	1B	2	0	7	0	0	0
1990	DET	OF	85	77	157	2	2	1

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
First Base	54
Third Base	2
Left Field	848
Center Field	181
Right Field	111
Designated Hitter	102

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1985	Player of the Week	Week of 1985-05-24
1984	Player of the Month	August
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-08-24
1982	Player of the Week	Week of 1982-07-02
1982	Player of the Week	Week of 1982-09-10