Ryan Ward (baseball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ryan Ward | |||||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg) Ward with the Great Lakes Loons in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 67 | |||||||||||||||
| Outfielder / First baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1998-02-23) February 23, 1998 (age 28) Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| April 19, 2026, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through April 20, 2026) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .333 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Stats at Baseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Ryan Joseph Ward (born February 23, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Amateur career
Ward attended Millbury High School in Millbury, Massachusetts, where he played baseball and golf.[1] As a junior in 2015, he hit .525 with three home runs, 19 RBIs, and seven doubles over 59 at-bats.[2] He went unselected in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at Bryant University to play college baseball. During the summer of 2016, he played for the Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.[3]
Ward started the first ten games of his freshman season at Bryant in 2017 before he broke his wrist, forcing him to miss the remainder of the year.[4] As a sophomore in 2018, he batted .409 with eight home runs, 52 RBI, 22 doubles, and 101 hits over 56 starts.[5] That summer, he played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League with the Ocean State Waves.[6] As a junior in 2019, he played in 58 games and hit .382 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.[7] After the season, he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth round with the 251st overall selection in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[8]
Los Angeles Dodgers
Ward signed with the Dodgers and spent his first professional season with the Ogden Raptors, batting .271 with four home runs, 23 RBI, and 11 doubles over 49 games.[9] He did not play a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] Ward spent the 2021 season with the Great Lakes Loons and slashed .278/.352/.524 with 27 home runs, 84 RBI, and 21 doubles over 109 games.[11] He spent the 2022 season with the Tulsa Drillers,[12] where he hit .255 in 116 games with 28 home runs and 78 RBI.[7] To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers.[13] He played in 139 games for them, hitting .234 with 21 homers and 95 RBI.[7] He returned to Oklahoma City in 2024, playing in 120 games with a .258 batting average, 33 home runs, and 101 RBI.[7] In 2025, he played his third straight season in Oklahoma City, with a .290 batting average, 36 home runs and 122 RBI in 143 games.[7] He won the Joe Bauman Award for the most home runs in minor league baseball.[14] He was also selected for the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award.[15] The Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster after the season to prevent him from becoming a minor league free agent.[16]
Ward was called up to the major leagues for the first time on April 19, 2026, to make his debut as the starting first baseman against the Colorado Rockies.[17][18] During the game, Ward had his first major league hit off Michael Lorenzen.[19] He was optioned back to the minors on April 21.[20]
International career
Ward played for the United States national baseball team at the 2024 WBSC Premier12, where he was named to the All-World Team as the top designated hitter and led the tournament in home runs.[21]
References
- ↑ "A Woolie becomes a Bulldog".
- ↑ "Baseball preview: Sky's the limit for Millbury slugger Ryan Ward".
- ↑ "Millbury's Ward to play for Bravehearts this summer".
- ↑ "Millbury's Ward suffers season-ending injury".
- ↑ "Bryant's Ryan Ward building off historic offensive season". March 9, 2019.
- ↑ "Bryant's Ward is back to full strength with Waves". July 7, 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Ryan Ward College, Amateur and Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ↑ "Dodgers pick Millbury's Ward".
- ↑ "Ching, Ward and Arocho lead Ogden in win". August 30, 2019.
- ↑ "2020 Minor League Baseball season shelved".
- ↑ "How locals are doing in pro ball: Millbury's Ryan Ward connects with Dodgers affiliate".
- ↑ "Drillers update: Homer leader Ryan Ward's defense, baserunning kick Travs in series opener". July 26, 2022.
- ↑ "OKC Dodgers Release Preliminary 2023 Roster". MiLB.com. March 30, 2023. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
- ↑ Van Doren, Kenny (September 21, 2025). "Dodgers' Ward slugs his way to the 2025 Minor League home run crown". mlb.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ↑ "OKC Comets slugger Ryan Ward named Pacific Coast League MVP for 2025 MiLB season". The Oklahoman. September 28, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ Chen, Sonja (November 6, 2025). "Dodgers pick up 2026 options on Muncy, Vesia". MLB.com. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Dodgers place Freeman on paternity list, recall Ryan Ward". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 19, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ Randhawa, Manny. "Dodgers call up No. 19 prospect Ward, place Freeman on paternity list". MLB.com. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ Perkins, Owen (April 19, 2026). "After 7 years in Minors, Ward doesn't wait long for 1st hit, RBI". MLB.com. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ Coloma, Aaron (April 21, 2026). "Dodgers Reinstate Freddie Freeman from Paternity List". Dodgers Nation. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Chieh-Hsien Chen is the WBSC Premier12 2024 MVP". WBSC. November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
External links
- Career statistics from MLB
· ESPN · Baseball Reference · Baseball Reference (Minors) - Bryant Bulldogs bio
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