Preston Ward
| Preston Ward | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First baseman | |||
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Born: July 24, 1927 Columbia, Missouri | |||
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Died: June 2, 2013 (aged 85) Las Vegas, Nevada | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 20, 1948, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 18, 1959, for the Kansas City Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .253 | ||
| Home runs | 50 | ||
| Runs batted in | 262 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Preston Meyer Ward (July 24, 1927 – June 2, 2013)[1] was a lefty-hitting, righty-throwing first baseman/outfielder/third baseman, who played 9 seasons in the major leagues, playing in both the National and American Leagues. In the National League, he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1948), Chicago Cubs (1950 and 1953) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1953–1956). In the American League, he played for the Cleveland Indians (1956–1958) and the Kansas City A's (1958–1959).
Ward got opportunities in the major leagues twice—in 1948 and 1950—before finally "sticking" in 1953. He became a utility player/platoon player, seeing most of his action as a first baseman (438 games at first base vs. 95 in the outfield vs. 74 at third base).
His batting numbers are low for a first baseman. His career batting average is .253, while the league average for the years he played is .269. His highest home run total was 12, and his highest RBI total was 48. He only twice made double-digits for home runs.
He was born in Columbia, Missouri, United States.
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)