They weren't just representing Toronto, they were stepping to the plate for all of Canada. Duane Ward and his Toronto Blue Jays teammates were well aware of that fact when they were winning World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.
"All the major league teams out there pretty much play for a city, the Toronto Blue Jays were playing for a country and I'll tell you what, the guys we had on those teams in '92 and '93 -- even the guys before that -- we all knew that," said Ward, a former Toronto relief pitcher who is in Prince George to instruct at a Jays-sponsored youth baseball camp that runs today through Wednesday. "We took it to heart ... and we wore that uniform with pride. And I think it's showing now. Seeing what the Blue Jays are doing now, as far as getting back out there to the fans and to these kids that we need to work with, it's a huge commitment from them. I wouldn't expect anything less out of the Toronto Blue Jays organization and I can't thank them enough. I thank them, Baseball Canada, Honda, and Rawlings for jumping on board and giving us equipment. It's beautiful."
The Honda Super Camp, sponsored locally by the Nechako Rotary Club, Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, Superstore, The Coast Inn of the North and The Prince George Citizen, will bring together more than 125 players ranging in age from eight to 16. The camp was originally planned for Volunteer Park in the Hart Highlands area of town but, because of the rain in recent days, has been moved into the Northern Sport Centre fieldhouse for at least today. Sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day.
Ward, now 47, was the winning pitcher in Games 2 and 3 of the 1992 World Series, which the Blue Jays won in six against the Atlanta Braves. The Jays became the first team based outside of the United States to be crowned champions. In 1993, they defended their title when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in a six-game final. That World Series ended with Joe Carter's memorable three-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning at SkyDome. In the 8-6 Toronto decision, Ward again picked up the win.
"It was the best experience of my life," Ward said of the two World Series championships. "Just getting the opportunity, more than anything, is what you look for as a player -- getting that opportunity to get into the playoffs and hopefully get into a World Series. And to actually get into it for the first time and win it was absolutely incredible. It's by far the biggest highlight of my career and it's what I played for. Every kid grows up going, 'It's 3-2, World Series, Game 7.' Everybody does that and I actually got to do it. It was a long-time dream come true."
Ward, who grew up in New Mexico and now lives in Durango, Colo., has been holding skills camps in Canada and the U.S. for the past seven years. The Prince George clinic is part of a 10-city Canadian tour, one that started in Vancouver last week and will next head to London, Ont. The Honda Super Camps are the first ones Ward has done in connection with the Blue Jays organization.
Here in Prince George, Ward will be helped out by fellow Jays alumni Lloyd Moseby, Mark Eichhorn and Rance Mulliniks. Local players will be in for an experience they won't forget.
"We're really going to try to teach grassroots baseball and get these kids to understand that it costs nothing to become good at it except for blood, sweat and tears," Ward said. "You've got to put the time in, and put the time in correctly. How to throw the ball correctly, how to hit the ball, how to field the ball -- that's what's important about it is that we're going to be able to sit there and watch these kids and try to help correct them just a little bit here and there. Hopefully they will take it on and apply it and hopefully it will help them get a little [closer to] what they're looking for. That's hopefully trading their God-given ability for a first-class education and then for those lucky few that actually get drafted or get a chance to play for Team Canada or whatever, that's just a bonus."
