Duane Ward, a two-time World Series champion with the Toronto Blue Jays, has died at 62.
The team confirmed Ward died of natural causes in Toronto.
He'd arrived in the city Friday, ahead of the club's ceremony honoring the 1992 and 1993 championship teams, but was absent from the festivities.
Ward pitched for Toronto from 1986 to 1995, appearing in 452 games over that stretch.
He ranks among the franchise's all-time leaders with 121 saves, a mark that reflects just how central he was to those championship bullpens.
In 2020, Ward was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, a recognition of a career that helped define an era of Blue Jays baseball.
The Blue Jays extended their condolences to Ward's family, saying he "will always be a cherished part of the Blue Jays family."
A career tied directly to Toronto's championship years
Ward's arrival in Toronto for the 1992 and 1993 reunion carries its own weight now, a final trip back to the city where he built his legacy.
Relievers from that era rarely get remembered the way starters or everyday players do, but Ward's saves total put him right alongside the biggest names from those two title runs.
Nine years across one organization is a long time in any era of baseball, and Ward spent his entire prime helping build something that still means a great deal to Blue Jays fans decades later.
The timing here is hard to look past, a franchise legend passing just as the club prepared to celebrate the very seasons he helped define.
Toronto's baseball community loses a genuine piece of its history today, and the thoughts of everyone connected to those championship teams are with Ward's family.
What's your favorite memory of Duane Ward's time with the Blue Jays?
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