Tucker and Turner Ward at Hank Aaron Stadium
                                      Photo By Wes Ward

 

Turner Ward
“Then and Now”
By JOEY WARNER

         The Ward family of five boys and their sister grew up in Saraland, Alabama in the seventies.  Wes, Turner, Jay, Wade and Lance grew up playing ball outside while Jodi was always the tough little sister.
        “We were always outside hitting tennis balls or golf balls in the neighbors’ yards and it helped my eye with hitting,” Turner said.  “It is different today because kids are inside playing Play Station or XBox.”
         Turner said there was always something on the line because they would create a situation like the World Series and they would immolate the different styles of players like Dale Murphy and Mickey Mantle.
        “We grew up playing Little League at Amelia Park before our Dad took us to see Hank Aaron play and that is when my dream started,” Turner said.
         Ward had to overcome adversity  when he did not make the freshman baseball team at Satsuma.
        “I decided when I was 14 that I wanted to become a major league baseball player and I would not take “No” for an answer,” Turner said.
“I found a strong desire and passion for baseball and my work ethic got better in high school.”
         Turner went to Faulkner State Junior College and he said that when his older brother Wes went to FSJC, it helped him get looked at.
        “I was a right-handed hitter through high school and as a freshman in College,”  Turner said.  “My Uncle Mutt told me that if I make it to the majors and could not switch-hit that I would be platooned.”
        Turner went on to break FSJC records that were set by Dave Stapleton, who played several years with the Boston Red Sox. He set single season records with 19 doubles and 8 triples and a two-year career batting average of .448.  He also stole 72 bases but never hit a home run.
         Turner played one year at the University of South Alabama. As a starting left fielder, he led the nation in assists with 17 while his brother Wes, played right field.  
        “Wes and I always played on the same team coming up, but years later  I realized that it is really cool that we played collegiate baseball together and he out hit me also,” Turner said.
        He went back to hitting right handed because he wanted to hit with more power but he slumped. Then, he went 8-for-9 left-handed in the Sun Belt tournament and found that he needed to continue switch hitting.
        In 1986, Turner was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 18th round and he was asked what it would take to sign him.
       “In my mind, it would really20take nothing to sign me but I asked for my College to be paid for and a new car,” Turner said.  “I went to Little’s Auto Sales in Satsuma and Yankees scout Jack Gillis called me and I agreed to a contract.”
       Turner then told people if they wanted a clean used car or a major league contract, then go to Little’s Auto Sales.
       After three seasons in the Yankees organization, Ward was traded to the Cleveland Indians, where he made his Major League debut in 1990 and hit .348. (16-46 and had 6 RBIs in his second major league game). After a year and a half with the Indians, the Alabama native was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was a member of the 1992 and 1993 World Series Champions.
       Ward spent the next three years of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1997 and hit .353 (59-167).  In 1998, Ward appeared in 123 games with the Pirates, and made one of the most memorable catches in Pirates history. On May 3, 1998, he raced back on a long fly ball off the bat of Mets catcher Mike Piazza and made the catch before running through the outfield wall at Three Rivers Stadium. Ward’s catch earned him an ESPY Award in 1998.
       Ward closed out his career with a year and a half in Arizona, including a run to the playoffs in 1999, before playing his last season with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001.
      “I was scared to death in my first game in the Major Leagues and I never thought I would be that nervous,” Turner said.  “Eric King, who I played against in the minors, threw me three straight change-ups and I missed them all. He could have threw behind me and I would have swung at it too.”
      Ward played 12 years in the majors with 6 teams and ended with a .251 career average and belted 39 homers and played all three outfield positions with the best of them.  He was known for his grit and determination on the field and led a life of spirit and goodness off the field.  
     “Winning was not a priority for some of the teams I played for but when I went on the field, I had a drive to be a winner and wanted to do the little things it took to be a winner,”  Ward said.
      Turner shared one of the most memorable moments he had as a major leaguer with sincere gratification.
      His son Tucker, was the bat boy  for the first time.  He was on deck with his father and as Turner walked toward home plate, Tucker followed him and said “Daddy, hit me home run.”  Turner got a fast ball and blasted it about three-quarters up the fence for a double.
      “I get emotional because I wanted my son to know what his dad did for a living,” Turner said. “Fathers s eek Christ because our father wants us to be like him. It meant a lot to me because hanging out with my kids has been my greatest moments and that was one of them.”
      Tucker 15, is a sophomore the UMS-Wright baseball team and he has a passion for pitching. “I don’t know what position he will play but it will be where he is needed,”  Turner said.  “He is a hard worker that ca play every position and he is improving.”
      Turner said he tries to help all the schools with baseball and he helps Tucker prepare but as a parent he has to wait on him to develop.
      Turner, who will turn 43 in April, has been married to his wife Donna for 20 years and they have a 3 year old son Olin, and an 8 year old daughter Kendall, who is also a student at UMS-Wright.
       After growing up in a large family, Ward is thankful for the support he has received from his mom and dad and his brothers and sister and it has molded him into a living  a clean life as a strong christian family man.
       There are many memories that Ward cherishes from his major league playing days.
        As a pinch-hitter with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ward ripped a   homer off of Al Leiter against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in the 1999 playoffs.
       The Mets fans booed me as I rounded the bases and the next day I got booed again by the whole stadium,”  Ward recalled.
       While playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first time Ward faced John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves describes the perseverance he had on the field.  It took Smoltz 13 pitches before Turner sliced a line drive that almost fell for a base hit.  
      “Smoltz threw me everything and I kept fouling the ball off, so he finally threw one so I could just put it in to play and I hit a line drive that was caught on a sliding dive.”
       Another time at bat against the Braves in 1999, Ward was off to the races after he hit a hard chopping ground ball off the glove of pitcher Dennis Martinez;  second baseman Bret Boone dove for the ball and it went off the tip of his glove into center field.   Andrew Jones came in hard in attempt to nab Pirates speedster Tony Womack at home plate but  could not catch up with the ball as it rolled to the outfield wall.
      “I thought I had it made and as I rounded third base,  I looked back and almost lost my footing but I still got the inside-the-park home run,”  Ward explained.
       His scrappy personality on the field strengthened his ability to lead by example.  
       Ward had been out of baseball20for five years when the Pirates called him to become the Manager in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league organization and he guided the Gulf Coast League’s Bradenton Pirates to a 27-26 record and a second-place finish during the 2006 season.
       In 2007, he managed State College of the New York-Penn League, which is the same league he started in as a player with Oneonta in 1986.  
      “It is neat seeing my career taking as full circle so far,” Ward said.
       Turner was inducted to the Mobile Hall of Fame in 2007 then was  hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the hitting instructor for the Mobile Bay Bears.
       “This is really cool to have the opportunity to be at home and coach in Mobile,” Turner said. “The Pirates were 100% behind me to come over to the Diamondbacks to do what I really enjoy doing and not have to stay on the road all season.”
      Turner believes we all have certain abilities and talents and we live by God’s glory.
      “I have a good opportunity to be an influence in people’s lives to stay focused and teach players to become a better hitter as a hitting coach for the Bay Bears,” Turner said.