Whitehorse Daily Star

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WORLD SERIES WINNER – Former Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Duane Ward will be in Whitehorse next week with three other former teammates to hold a youth development camp. Ward recorded the win when the Jays won the 1993 World Series, for the second year in row. Photo courtesy TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Former Jays in town to provide baseball development camp for youth

Who can forget, if you were around.

By Chuck Tobin on June 22, 2018

Who can forget, if you were around.

Blue Jays slugger Joe Carter was at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning in game six of the 1993 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Jays were trailing 6-5, but were up in the playoff series three games to two.

With two runners on and Carter facing a count of two balls and two strikes, he pounded a walk-off home run to win Major League Baseball’s coveted championship for the second year in row.

Jays relief pitcher Duane Ward recorded the win.

Ward will be in Whitehorse along with three other former Blue Jays to hold a baseball camp for 110 youth Monday and Tuesday.

Joining Ward will be Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and Roberto Alomar, the all-star second baseman who became the first Toronto Blue Jay to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

For all but a brief stint with the Atlanta Braves in 1986 to begin his MLB career, Ward remained a Blue Jay until his retirement from professional baseball in 1995.

In the Blue Jays 1992 World Series Championship, Ward was a set up man as a middle reliever.

Today, he cherishes his time on the diamond as mentor to young players with a message that nothing needs to stand in the way of becoming a better and better player if that is your desire.

What matters is that you believe in yourself, Ward says in an interview with the Star earlier this week from his home in Las Vegas.

The hard throwing right hander with a wicked slider says he and his former teammates are here to encourage youth to believe they can achieve their goals.

“You don’t have to be the best on the team to reach a higher level,” he says. “Don’t give up because you are the smallest guy on the team. There is no reason you can’t be the player you want to be.”

But there also here to teach fundamentals of the game.

“You have to remember we all started playing baseball when we were very, very young and we have a passion for the game, and we want to see these kids succeed,” says Ward.

“We are looking forward to coming up there and putting them through the paces.”

Ward says they’ll be conducting drills on hitting, fielding, throwing, running bases and sliding.

It’s an opportunity to share another view of the game, different tactics, different approaches, he says, noting some players will often grow up having many of the same coaches through the years.

Ward says he began holding development camps for youth in the greater Toronto area back in 2008 as a way to give back to community while promoting baseball.

It was a means of giving back to those in the community, fans and parents of the children who were so gracious in supporting his career as a Blue Jay.

He also began pitching the idea that the Toronto Blue Jays organization get involved in the program, and in 2011, it did.

This summer, the Blue Jays Baseball Academy has teamed up with Baseball Canada and Little League Canada to bring the Honda Super Camps to 14 Canadian cities spread across all 10 provinces, and the Yukon for youth nine to 16.

The young players will receive Blue Jay hats, t-shirts, baseball manuals and the opportunity to have them signed by the Blue Jays alumni.

Registration for the Whitehorse camp is full.

Meanwhile, an opening ceremony for a refurbished ball diamond in the Mount McIntyre subdivision was scheduled to be held at 2 p.m. today.

This past April 17, the Jays Care Foundation provided $53,505 to the Kwanlin Dun First Nation for the ball diamond project. Altogether, the foundation provided $1.4 million to 16 community organizations across the country.

Comments (1)

Up 5 Down 1

the Babe on Jun 23, 2018 at 2:22 pm

What can you say about these four guys except that their greatness continues.

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