Daryle Ward
Daryle Ward (born June 27, 1975 in Lynwood, California) is a Major League Baseball outfielder/first baseman and left-hander batter who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Ward was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1994 amateur draft. He is the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward.
Ward came to the Houston Astros in December 1996 as part of a massive 10-players trade with Detroit. He made a strong debut in 2000 by hitting 20 home runs in just 264 at-bats. In his second season for the Astros, Ward batted .263 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI in 95 games. The next year he went for .276, 12, 72 in 136 games. After the season he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite the Dodgers praised his versatility and his power-hitting potential, Ward was just a part-time player for the team in 2003. Then, he was sent to the Pirates at the end of the season.
On May 26, 2004 Ward, recalled from Triple-A Nashville Sounds two weeks before, hit for the cycle and tied his career high with six RBI in the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Ward hit a two-run double in the first, an RBI triple in the fourth, golfed a three-run homer in the fifth and singled in the ninth. He is the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle since Jason Kendall on May 19, 2000, against the Cardinals. It's been done 23 times in club history and 243 times since 1882.
Ward joined his father, Gary, to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle. Ward accomplished the feat on September 18, 1980, for the Minnesota Twins.
In 470 games played for the Astros and Dodgers Ward batted .261 (311-1192), with 49 HRs, 197 RBI, 116 runs, 63 doubles and two triples.
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