Former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Duane Ward suddenly left dinner with a group of players shortly before his death was announced on Sunday, July 19. He was 62 years old.
“That wasn't like Wardo leaving early,” said Ward's former Blue Jays teammate Tom Henke told the The Toronto Sun per week. I asked him, 'Are you feeling well?' I didn't like the way he looked, to be honest.”
Ward, Henke, 68, and a group of former teammates were in Toronto over the weekend to unveil a statue commemorating the franchise's 1992 and 1993 World Series titles. The group had a dinner on Friday, July 17.
When the team was scheduled to head to the Rogers Center the next day, however, Ward was nowhere to be found.
“I didn't know where he was,” said Henke.
Former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston told the The sun“I thought something was wrong when he was late. Wardo was one of those guys who never showed up. He was punctual.”
The unveiling of the statue took place during Ward's absence before Toronto's game against the Chicago White Sox. The Blue Jays announced Ward's death Sunday morning, revealing that he died of natural causes.
“Duane will be greatly missed by our fans, and our condolences go out to his family,” the team said in a statement. “Duane will always be a valued part of the Blue Jays family, and we will always be grateful for his contributions to our organization and to Canadian baseball.”
No other details about Ward's death have been made public.
There was a moment of silence for Ward before Sunday's game against the White Sox.
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“I'm in shock right now,” Henke said of Ward's sudden death. “How could you? I had dinner with Wardo when he came in. We should visit. I think now, I'm so glad I did. I'm glad I got some more time with him.”
Gaston, 82, praised Ward's important role in successive teams, saying the late striker “made my job easier.”
“He was just a good pitcher, man,” he recalled. “He didn't arrest the prisoners on the mound, sometimes I went out to the mound to talk to him just to hit him with the balls, and ask him, 'How are you going to get this guy out?' He was telling me to put the hell back in the hole and he knows what he's doing.”
Gaston added, “We never had to worry about the 8th and 9th innings when we had Henke and Ward in the bullpen.”
