- Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1989 Topps Traded #124T.
- Player Name, position, team: Gary Ward, designated hitter-outfielder, Detroit Tigers.
- Major League Debut: September 3, 1979.
- Last Line of Statistics: 1988 stats (Yankees): 91 G, 231 AB, 26 R, 52 H, 8 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 0 SB, .312 SLG, 24 BB, 41 SO, .225 AVG.
- Any special information about player: Signed with the Twins as a Free Agent 08/29/1972. Signed with the Tigers as a Free Agent 04/23/1989. Bats: right. Throws: right.
- Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his thirteenth Topps card.
- Blurb on the back: "Gary delivered 3-run pinch-Home Run in 10th inning providing Yankees with 7-4 win vs. Tigers, 9-8-88."
- Commentary: Released by the Yankees after the first week of the 1989 season (April 16), Gary Lamell Ward still believed that he could still be a productive player in the majors. So after a week off to clear his mind a bit (and for those of us who have been unemployed know the feeling), he signed on with the Detroit Tigers. He quickly showed that he could still produce. Although his All-Star days with the Twins and Rangers were behind him, Ward covered all three spots in the outfield as well as fill in at DH. In 1989, he hit for a .251 average with 9 home runs, 29 rbi's, and percentages of .300/.400/.700. The following year he hit .256, and although his home run total remained at 9, he drove in 17 more runs than the previous year. Granted free agency in 1990, and unable to sign on with any team, Ward retired from the game, and watched his son, Daryle, follow in his big league footsteps. Gary Ward is back in the minors now, moving up the ranks as a hitting coach in the White Sox farm system. In 2013, he was the hitting coach for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, and is being considered for the same role for the big league team in 2014.
- Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
- How many cards of this player do I own?: 17.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies T28. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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