Remembering Legendary Blue Jays Reliever Duane Ward
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
All right, welcome back to Blair and Barker on Sportsnet 590, the fan of Sportsnet. 7.07 will be the first pitch tonight at the Rogers Center. Yeah. Jays and Rays will be along following the game with Blue Jays talk. Dare I ask? Just don't. Let's just hope that – Vladdy, it's a homer. No. I'm at the point now where I just hope that it's over before 11 o'clock so I can be home at a decent time.
Oh, there it is.
We've reached that point.
I love baseball. I'm going to love it regardless. Oh, I do too. But it would be nice if they had some better at bats.
I do too. But, I mean, if you're not going to win, then lose quickly. That's always been my approach.
That's a good approach.
You'd have been a heck of a baseball player, boy.
That's a former writer's approach, man.
That's a former writer's approach.
I'm going to suck. I'm going to do it in a hurry.
Just get it over with.
Yeah.
Places to go. People to see. There it is. I don't know. It'll be Nick Martinez against Dylan Cease tonight. So, you know, we kind of passed over this a little bit in the first segment. But before Todd Stoudemire joins us, I do want to just talk a little bit about Trey Savage yesterday. 21 with season high. 23. Is that right? 22 of 24 first pitch strikes. 62 strikes, 95 pitches. And I think the best fastball he's had.
I think that's fair. I think location of the fastball is the best he's had.
Location.
Right. He could go east and west with it. He could go up with it. I think down was key for him, too. You know, if you want to get me swinging up the split finger, get some fastball called strikes down. Yeah. I think he had a few more of those. He was attacking early. I mean, ain't bigger. We said that for the last couple of starts. Stop trying to nibble. He didn't do that. He had success.
Yeah.
It was a game they should have won.
Listen, I think going forward here, you know, we talk about what do you need to see. I really – I think Trey Savage is really – just really important. Be predictable. Be predictable. There it is. That is exactly right. Boom. Be predictable. I don't expect what you did yesterday all the time, but if you can come close to it. There it is. We'll be okay with it. Well, we mentioned that this weekend was a significant ceremony held by the Blue Jays. The unveiling of the back-to-back statue honoring the 92 and 93 World Series teams. A ton of Blue Jays alumni were in town. The ceremony was tremendous. There were a lot of good memories. But as well, an awful lot of sadness. Dwayne Ward passing away at the age of 62, very much an important part of those two teams.
And as Kevin and I said, someone we – we never knew him as a teammate, but we got to know him as a man and as – you know, as a guy. And we really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with him. Our next guest really had some nice thoughts about his former teammate. He is Todd Stottlemyre, two-time World Series champion. Todd, thanks so much for joining us today. Boy, condolences on your loss. And, yeah, I know it's – we appreciate you joining us because I know it's a tough time. for a lot of folks in those teams. I'm going to ask you just a very simple question, though, to kind of get the conversation going, Todd. When I mention the name Dwayne Ward to you, because you know him as a teammate, when I mention the name Dwayne Ward to you, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?
Warrior. I just think about... Man, guys... I'm going to do the best I can. We appreciate it. But I think a warrior and I think a guy that you could take, you could literally cut his right arm off and he's going to show up the next day and tell you he's ready to pitch. And that's just, That's just who he was, whether he was the closer in 93 or prior to that where Henke was the closer. He wanted the ball literally every day. A lot of guys say they want the ball every day, but this guy, it was almost as if he demanded the baseball every day. He wanted in the game. He was as close as you'll get to an everyday player as a pitcher to where he wanted to play the game of baseball every day.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:09–7:41
2
Who was Duane Ward and why are the Blue Jays remembering him?
7:41–12:45
3
What memories does Todd Stottlemyre share about Duane Ward’s clubhouse presence?
12:45–15:52
4
How did Duane Ward’s work ethic and routines make him an elite closer?
15:52–34:59
5
What role did the 1991 season play in motivating the Blue Jays to win back-to-back titles?
34:59–49:39
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Blair & Barker
Season's End, Questions Ahead
Closing Out a Disappointing Season + Chris Welsh
Vladdy Addresses the Controversy + John Schneider Joins the Show!
Will Max Scherzer Return Next Season? + Dissecting Vladdy's Comments
All Eyes on Vladdy + What’s Next for the Blue Jays
Vladdy's Controversial Contract Comments