ST. LOUIS — Earlier than Hank Aaron’s 710th house run landed within the Atlanta Stadium seats on Sept. 10, 1973, one other skilled baseball profession that spanned 31 seasons was born.
Turner Ward, a 9-year-old child within the Atlanta crowd that evening, appeared on wide-eyed because the baseball landed simply ft from him and his older brother, Wes. Witnessing the joy surrounding Aaron’s chase of Babe Ruth’s then-record 714 house runs satisfied Ward — who lived just some miles away from Aaron’s Cellular, Ala., birthplace — of his path in life.
“When Hank hit that ball and it was flying out to left area, I do know lots of people would suppose I caught that ball after I’m telling the story, however I didn’t,” Ward recalled just lately. “What I caught that evening was a dream. The dream, in that second, was me understanding that I wished to be a Main League participant, and I used to be capable of stay that dream for a very long time.”
As destiny would have it, it wasn’t the final time Ward witnessed an historic 700th-plus house run.
Ward, now 59 years previous and out of baseball after ending a stint as hitting coach for the Cardinals, owns the uncommon distinction of witnessing two 700-plus homers in individual. Simply 4 sluggers in AL/NL historical past — Barry Bonds (762), Aaron (755), Ruth (714) and Albert Pujols (703) — are within the 700-homer membership, and Ward had private relationships with two — Aaron and Pujols.
Years after seeing Aaron hit No. 710, Ward met the legendary slugger when Ward managed the Double-A Cellular BayBears (who performed in Hank Aaron Stadium from 1997-2019). Later, Ward was the Cardinals’ assistant hitting coach when Pujols swatted his 699th and 700th house runs on Sept. 23, 2022.
“Seeing Albert and Hank do what they did is fairly unbelievable, and I’ve a lot respect for each of them,” Ward mentioned. “These two moments have been so highly effective for me. One, as a child beginning this dream to make the massive leagues, and [then] watching [Pujols] accomplish his goals. It was wonderful.”
One other a part of Ward’s baseball journey intertwined him within the historical past of house run greats. Ward, the gritty outfielder with occasional energy, reached the massive leagues on Sept. 10, 1990, 17 years to the day that he — together with brothers Wes and Wade and father, Dr. James Ward — was within the crowd to witness Aaron’s 710th homer.
“It was the one Main League sport I noticed in individual earlier than I made it to the massive leagues,” Ward marveled. “My dad took my brothers and myself out of faculty to go to the sport, and we made the five-hour journey. Each time Hank swung, [flashbulbs] have been popping everywhere in the stadium.”
Ward’s professional profession began when the Yankees picked him within the 18th spherical of the 1986 MLB Draft. He performed for Cleveland, Toronto, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Arizona and Philadelphia over a profession that spanned elements of 12 seasons. He was a .251 hitter with 39 profession homers in 626 video games. Nicknamed “Nation,” Ward parlayed his talent right into a prolonged profession as a hitting coach for the D-backs, Dodgers, Reds and Cardinals.
Ward’s last cease introduced him into contact with Pujols, who wowed baseball followers by happening a house run spree late in 2022 that allowed him to surpass 700 homers. Not lengthy after, Ward puzzled if he could be the one individual in baseball to have witnessed two 700-plus homers in individual.
“Possibly there’s someone else on the market who has seen a few 700 homers like me,” he mentioned. “However, for me, going from Cellular to Atlanta to Los Angeles, that a part of it’s fairly wonderful.”
