Good luck to him but man part of me is glad to see him go because I hate streaky hitters and he was about the streakiest you could get
Tell me how to feel
Someone go check on taylorwardlover
We’re all Taylor Ward Lovers on this day. Goodbye king, I wish you the best.
Holy shit.
Let’s gooooo
Whoa! I am unwell
No fucking way. Not even for Jo Adell. This is positive.
Gonna miss Taylor ward fr but holy finesse Grod has ace upside
LETS GOOOOO
damn.. wardy is gone 🥲
Saw him hit the grand slam in the comeback win vs padres. I was hype af at the game
Holy fuck where did this come from
wait not ward… 🙁
Coming off elbow surgery – is he healthy now?
It sucks to see Ward go because he’s been one of the few bright spots these past few years. Decent return for a guy we probably wouldn’t re-sign and also frees some money. Hopefully Maddux can bring out the best in Grayson.
Not bad for an expiring contract. I’m not convinced that Grayson isn’t cooked health-wise but if he’s healthy this should pay out.
Orioles fan here, checking your temperature. I have no idea who ward is but we have plenty of OF in upper prospect ranks, we don’t have prospect pitchers with so much upside as G-Rod. That’s what we called him and we wanted him to flourish. Orioles fans hate this trade. Can you help us understand that we should be excited about ward?
Can’t believe they actually traded him. Wow. Not sure about Grayson. Thought he had elbow issues?
The injury risk/issues are obvious (his last start was on July 31, 2024) but man, Rodriguez was very good as a 23 and 24-year-old from 2023-24. If he stays healthy, the baseline is already a strong No. 2/3 starter with the upside for more (he just turned 26).
I’m actually mildly surprised that this is the direction they went on a Ward trade but I think it’s a solid move. Rodriguez is under club control through 2029 and gives them a pretty fascinating rotation at present, though I think they need to add an innings-eating starter now (Merrill Kelly, Chris Bassitt, Zack Littell, etc.).
rodriguez’s arm must be made out of paper mache for the orioles to do this but even so i sort of love it? tremendous upside and ward was walking in free agency anyways.
Gonna miss Wardo. Most beautiful swing in the game. Thanks for all the good times
Sad but this was objectively a good trade. Rodriguez has All-Star upside and is under club control until 2030. If Ward has a good year, maybe we sign him back next offseason anyways.
They got more for Ward than they did Ohtani. So at least there’s that.
Orioles fan, I’m stunned. Sick even.
Orioles fan here. Got to watch G-Rod outpitch Cease a couple years back in Chicago in 35 degree rain. He was supposed to be our home-grown ace and the reason we didn’t trade for ace-caliber pitching at the start of last season.
You guys got a great one if he can stay healthy. He had probably 3 or 4 separate injuries trying to ramp back up last year. Hoping he figures it out and gives you guys everything he’s got the potential to.
My farewell story to Taylor:
My brother and I were at the Big A for Mike Scioscia’s last game in 2018, sitting along the third-base line, doing that bittersweet mental math every fan does on the final day of the season. It was Scioscia’s swan song, the end of an era, and the Angels were doing their usual thing of trailing behind and breaking hearts, even in a meaningless game. Playoffs were already out of the picture.
By the late innings, we started talking grown-up decisions that always feels like betrayal when you’re leaving a ballpark before the last out.
So we got up from our seats on the third-base side and started making our way around the concourse, half watching the field, half weaving through most people already peeling off toward the exits. The game moved into the bottom of the ninth, Angels down two runs, and instead of bailing completely we drifted over toward the first-base line concourse.
We stopped by the rail, right around first base, figuring we’d watch the last few at-bats before heading out. Things were quiet, so we decided in our drunken stupor “fuck it, let’s get the crowd going.” One hit. Two.
Then Taylor Ward came up.
By then, people around us were clapping, yelling, some like us had been half-turned toward the parking lot.
And then he crushed the walk-off home run.
When it cleared the wall, the stadium erupted. Season over. Angels win 5–4. Mike Scioscia’s final game ends in storybook fashion, on a Taylor Ward three-run shot to left field in the bottom of the ninth.
To this day, I still look up that video and hear my brother starting the “let’s go Angels” chant in the background.
Good times.
So as Taylor Ward moves on, that’s the moment I’ll always hold onto: September 30, 2018, my brother and I standing on the concourse, watching him walk it off in Scioscia’s last game, turning an ordinary “get out early” into one of my favorite baseball memories of all time.
27 comments
Good luck to him but man part of me is glad to see him go because I hate streaky hitters and he was about the streakiest you could get
Tell me how to feel
Someone go check on taylorwardlover
We’re all Taylor Ward Lovers on this day. Goodbye king, I wish you the best.
Holy shit.
Let’s gooooo
Whoa! I am unwell
No fucking way. Not even for Jo Adell. This is positive.
Gonna miss Taylor ward fr but holy finesse Grod has ace upside
LETS GOOOOO
damn.. wardy is gone 🥲
Saw him hit the grand slam in the comeback win vs padres. I was hype af at the game
Holy fuck where did this come from
wait not ward… 🙁
Coming off elbow surgery – is he healthy now?
It sucks to see Ward go because he’s been one of the few bright spots these past few years. Decent return for a guy we probably wouldn’t re-sign and also frees some money. Hopefully Maddux can bring out the best in Grayson.
Not bad for an expiring contract. I’m not convinced that Grayson isn’t cooked health-wise but if he’s healthy this should pay out.
Orioles fan here, checking your temperature. I have no idea who ward is but we have plenty of OF in upper prospect ranks, we don’t have prospect pitchers with so much upside as G-Rod. That’s what we called him and we wanted him to flourish. Orioles fans hate this trade. Can you help us understand that we should be excited about ward?
Can’t believe they actually traded him. Wow. Not sure about Grayson. Thought he had elbow issues?
The injury risk/issues are obvious (his last start was on July 31, 2024) but man, Rodriguez was very good as a 23 and 24-year-old from 2023-24. If he stays healthy, the baseline is already a strong No. 2/3 starter with the upside for more (he just turned 26).
I’m actually mildly surprised that this is the direction they went on a Ward trade but I think it’s a solid move. Rodriguez is under club control through 2029 and gives them a pretty fascinating rotation at present, though I think they need to add an innings-eating starter now (Merrill Kelly, Chris Bassitt, Zack Littell, etc.).
rodriguez’s arm must be made out of paper mache for the orioles to do this but even so i sort of love it? tremendous upside and ward was walking in free agency anyways.
Gonna miss Wardo. Most beautiful swing in the game. Thanks for all the good times
Sad but this was objectively a good trade. Rodriguez has All-Star upside and is under club control until 2030. If Ward has a good year, maybe we sign him back next offseason anyways.
They got more for Ward than they did Ohtani. So at least there’s that.
Orioles fan, I’m stunned. Sick even.
Orioles fan here. Got to watch G-Rod outpitch Cease a couple years back in Chicago in 35 degree rain. He was supposed to be our home-grown ace and the reason we didn’t trade for ace-caliber pitching at the start of last season.
You guys got a great one if he can stay healthy. He had probably 3 or 4 separate injuries trying to ramp back up last year. Hoping he figures it out and gives you guys everything he’s got the potential to.
My farewell story to Taylor:
My brother and I were at the Big A for Mike Scioscia’s last game in 2018, sitting along the third-base line, doing that bittersweet mental math every fan does on the final day of the season. It was Scioscia’s swan song, the end of an era, and the Angels were doing their usual thing of trailing behind and breaking hearts, even in a meaningless game. Playoffs were already out of the picture.
By the late innings, we started talking grown-up decisions that always feels like betrayal when you’re leaving a ballpark before the last out.
So we got up from our seats on the third-base side and started making our way around the concourse, half watching the field, half weaving through most people already peeling off toward the exits. The game moved into the bottom of the ninth, Angels down two runs, and instead of bailing completely we drifted over toward the first-base line concourse.
We stopped by the rail, right around first base, figuring we’d watch the last few at-bats before heading out. Things were quiet, so we decided in our drunken stupor “fuck it, let’s get the crowd going.” One hit. Two.
Then Taylor Ward came up.
By then, people around us were clapping, yelling, some like us had been half-turned toward the parking lot.
And then he crushed the walk-off home run.
When it cleared the wall, the stadium erupted. Season over. Angels win 5–4. Mike Scioscia’s final game ends in storybook fashion, on a Taylor Ward three-run shot to left field in the bottom of the ninth.
To this day, I still look up that video and hear my brother starting the “let’s go Angels” chant in the background.
Good times.
So as Taylor Ward moves on, that’s the moment I’ll always hold onto: September 30, 2018, my brother and I standing on the concourse, watching him walk it off in Scioscia’s last game, turning an ordinary “get out early” into one of my favorite baseball memories of all time.
