Overview
- The Toronto Blue Jays announced that Ward, 62, died of natural causes in Toronto after arriving for a weekend reunion, with the team saying he came to the city on Friday and was reported dead on Sunday.
- The club honored Ward before Sunday’s game with a videoboard montage and a moment of silence and otherwise limited public comment on the circumstances of his death.
- Ward helped the Blue Jays win World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, earned an All‑Star nod in 1993 when he led the American League with 45 saves, and was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series.
- A workhorse reliever who partnered with Tom Henke, Ward ranks among Toronto’s leaders with 121 career saves and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.
- Former teammates, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the National Baseball Hall of Fame issued tributes, and the loss drew attention to how heavy reliever workloads in Ward’s era contributed to the rotator‑cuff injury that ended his major‑league career.