the Dodgers<\/a> were calling him up for his long-awaited MLB debut.<\/p>\nAfter a journey that often seemed to be at a dead end, he had finally reached the pinnacle of his profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cSitting here right now thinking about it, it feels like it went by fast,\u201d Ward said Sunday, hours before his debut at Coors Field against the Rockies. \u201cBut, man, when I was down there, it felt like a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward, 28, was never a big-name prospect in the Dodgers\u2019 farm system, nor really at any point in his baseball career.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t grow up in a baseball hotbed, going to the local high school in his hometown of Millbury, Massachusetts. He wasn\u2019t heavily recruited in college, playing mid-major Division I baseball at Bryant University.<\/p>\n
And while his raw power helped him become an eighth-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2019, he was marked down for his size (5-foot-10), limited defensive versatility (either a corner outfield spot or first base) and an inability to control the strike zone that hampered his production at the plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s ever really been handed to him,\u201d his dad, Carl, told The California Post. \u201cHe\u2019s had to work really hard to get where he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
From 2021-2024, Ward rose from High-A to Triple-A by racking up 109 total home runs, flashing a unique ability to slug the ball to all parts of the field.<\/p>\n
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The Dodgers\u2019 Ryan Ward got his MLB opportunity when Freddie Freeman went on the paternity list. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always had power,\u201d said Brett Pill, who grew close to Ward as the Dodgers\u2019 minor-league hitting coordinator before leaving the organization this past winter to become the Rockies\u2019 MLB hitting coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen power to the opposite field like that,\u201d Pill added.<\/p>\n
However, Ward only hit .255 in that time with almost three times as many strikeouts (532) as walks (195), making it too easy for pitchers to throw the ball out of the zone and get him to chase.<\/p>\n
Thus, Dodgers brass repeatedly told him that plate discipline needed to be a point of emphasis.<\/p>\n
Manager Dave Roberts went as far as to \u201cpull him aside at the end of spring training last season,\u201d Carl recounted, \u201cand say, \u2018This is what\u2019s holding you back right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
So, last year, Ward found a way to improve.<\/p>\n
Ahead of his second season of Triple-A ball, the left-handed slugger adopted a new routine during his winter hitting sessions, constantly shifting the location balls would spit out of a pitching machine to improve his eye of the strike zone and hone in on specific spots to hunt. He also doubled down on his preparation, spending more time reviewing scouting reports and strategizing how to attack opposing pitchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it kind of dawned on him,\u201d Pill said, \u201clike, \u2018If I really want to get on that team, I gotta figure some of that out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What came next was a breakthrough 2025 campaign, one in which Ward\u2019s walk rate climbed, his strikeout rate was slashed nearly in half, his power numbers went even further through the roof and he won the Pacific Coast League\u2019s MVP award with a .290 batting average, 36 home runs and 122 RBIs.<\/p>\n
\u201cPitchers can\u2019t just throw him balls and get him to swing at them,\u201d Pill said. \u201cIt made him a complete hitter, instead of just a big power threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Ward\u2019s wait for a major-league call-up dragged on. Last year, corners of the fan base even began clamoring for him after seeing his gaudy minor-league numbers, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I used it to keep going,\u201d Ward said. \u201cIf I\u2019m not there yet, then what do I have to do to get there? What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better? I used it as fire to keep working.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ryan Ward\u2019s family \u2013\u2013 his dad Carl, mother Jenn and fiancee Keely (far right) \u2013\u2013 was at Coors Field on Sunday for his debut.<\/p>\n
That, Carl said Sunday \u2013\u2013 while sitting beside his wife, Jenn, and more than a dozen other family members and friends in the Coors Field stands ahead of first pitch \u2013\u2013 is the thing that made him most proud of his son\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never felt bad for himself. He never said, \u2018Oh, poor me,\u2019\u201d Carl said. \u201cHe just said, \u2018OK, back to work I go.\u2019 It\u2019s just his work ethic, to never let anyone outwork you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Case in point: During winters back home in Massachusetts, Ward\u2019s work would include some non-baseball jobs, too.<\/p>\n
After snowstorms, he would help his dad \u2013\u2013 who is the park foreman for the City of Millbury\u2019s public works department \u2013\u2013 by driving a plow truck to clear the community\u2019s main streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got his first 2-foot snowstorm this past winter!\u201d Carl joked.<\/p>\n
Ward also worked at a local hitting facility last year, helping young players make their own transformations with still-developing swings.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just such a good kid,\u201d Pill said. \u201cBoston guy, grinder.\u201d<\/p>\n
At times, Carl would try to emotionally hedge his son, reminding him that, \u201ceven if you don\u2019t get a call-up, you made it to a very high, elite level of baseball that 99% of people can\u2019t say they did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward, however, remained adamant about climbing the final rung \u2013\u2013 determined not only to reach the majors but also do so with the organization that drafted him.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, this lineup is pretty stacked,\u201d Carl said. \u201cBut it was very, very important to him to make his debut with this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what made Friday\u2019s news all the more meaningful; not only to Ward, but all the people who got a front-row seat to his journey.<\/p>\n
Carl and Jenn were tipped off to what was happening when, while watching a broadcast of Oklahoma City\u2019s game, they noticed Ward didn\u2019t take his first at-bat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey showed him getting hugs and stuff in the dugout,\u201d Carl said. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Oh, my god!\u2019 I figured he either got traded or called up. And it was the better of the two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pill, meanwhile, got a wave of messages from his old Dodgers coaching colleagues when news began to spread later that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of years in the minors for him,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, especially with this team, to crack in and get a few days [in the big leagues] or whatever it ends up being \u2013\u2013 like I said, I got texts from a lot of people that love this kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward\u2019s stay might not last long. He was only recalled to replace Freddie Freeman after the superstar first baseman went on the paternity list. With Freeman expected back during next week\u2019s series in San Francisco, Ward\u2019s place in the majors appears to be temporary.<\/p>\n
But after such a long climb, simply reaching a moment like Sunday was an accomplishment; so much so, one of Ward\u2019s former minor-league teammates was happy to sacrifice his place in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, I was gonna start Dalton [Rushing at first base],\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThen I went to Dalton last night, and I said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m gonna go against what I talked about, and I\u2019m gonna start Ryan, because \u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Rushing cut him off.<\/p>\n
\u201cDalton finished my sentence,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBecause he\u2019s earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DENVER \u2014 The wait lasted seven years, three weeks and, in the end, one final half-inning. On Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[5,141,64131,1009,1560,39,815,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,4,39948,378,1558],"class_list":{"0":"post-679525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-dodgers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-brett-pill","11":"tag-coors-field","12":"tag-dave-roberts","13":"tag-dodgers","14":"tag-freddie-freeman","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-la-dodgers","17":"tag-ladodgers","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-losangelesdodgers","22":"tag-mlb","23":"tag-ryan-ward","24":"tag-san-francisco","25":"tag-the-dodgers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116434451788672922","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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