The Blue Jays were supposed to spend this weekend celebrating. More than two dozen players, coaches and executives from the 1992 and 1993 championship teams gathered in Toronto for the unveiling of a new Back-to-Back World Series statue outside Rogers Centre. Instead, the organization is mourning one of the players who made those teams great. Duane Ward, the franchise's all-time saves leader, has died at 62.
Duane Ward Passes Away t.co/WyZ4KPo6S0
Ward wasn't just a name on a championship roster. He was the bridge that turned Toronto into an untouchable late-inning team in the early '90s, setting up and eventually closing for a Blue Jays club that ripped off consecutive titles. In 1993 he made the All-Star team, posted a 2.13 ERA and led the American League with 45 saves as Toronto's closer. His 121 career saves still stand as the most in franchise history, a number that's held up for over 3 decades.
According to reporting, Ward had flown into Toronto on Friday to reunite with his old teammates for the alumni weekend, but he wasn't present Saturday when the statue was actually unveiled. The Blue Jays announced his death Sunday, saying he passed of natural causes while in the city for the celebration -- a gut-punch timeline that turned a nostalgia trip into a farewell.
Duane Ward, a star reliever for the #BlueJays' 1992-93 championship teams, passed away this weekend. t.co/81yFz5yJJs
The Blue Jays held a moment of silence and played a video tribute before Sunday's game against the White Sox, and the organization put out a statement calling Ward a "cherished part of the Blue Jays family" who will be "deeply missed." For a fan base that's been celebrating those back-to-back titles all season with the statue rollout and reunion festivities, losing one of the era's defining arms in the middle of it is about as cruel as timing gets.
Ward's career was cut short by shoulder injuries not long after his peak, but for a stretch in the early '90s he was as dominant a reliever as existed in the sport, and he was central to two parades that Toronto still hasn't stopped talking about. Expect more tributes to roll in this week from former teammates and around the league as the baseball world processes the loss of a genuine franchise icon.