BIOGRAPHY
Joseph Taylor Ward was born on December 14, 1993 in Dayton, Ohio. He is an American professional Baseball player for the Los Angeles Angels of The Major League Baseball.
Ward played college baseball at Fresno State. He was drafted by the Angels in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
Ward made his professional debut with the Orem Owlz and was later promoted to the Burlington Bees. He batted a combined .348/.457/.438 with three home runs, 31 RBIs, and six stolen bases between the two teams in 201 at bats. He was named a Pioneer League Mid-Season All-Star.
He spent 2016 with the Inland Empire 66ers where he batted .249 with ten home runs and 56 RBIs. He was an Arizona Fall League 2016 Rising Star, and an MiLB.com Angels Organization All Star.
In 2017, Ward split time between the 66ers and the Mobile BayBears, batting a combined .258/.368/.390 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 87 games between both clubs. He was an MiLB.com Angels Organization All Star.
Prior to the 2018 season, he was converted from a catcher to a third baseman. He was called up to the majors for the first time on August 14, 2018, and made his MLB debut that day. He finished the season hitting .178/.245/.333 for the Angels in 135 at bats over 40 games with 6 home runs and 15 RBIs. In the minor leagues, between Mobile and the AAA Salt Lake Bees, he batted .349/.446/.531 in 375 at bats with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases in 21 attempts, and was a Southern League mid-season All Star, and an MiLB.com Angels Organization All Star.
Ward began the 2022 season on the 10-day injured list with a groin strain he endured during a spring training game. He made his season debut on April 16, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run against the Texas Rangers. On April 25, Ward hit two home runs and provided all the offense in his first multi-homer game, a 3–0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians. On April 27, later in the same series against Cleveland, Ward went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, his second career grand slam, and a triple, falling a single shy from hitting for the cycle in the 9–5 victory. Ward was named the American League Player of the Week for April 25 – May 1, a span where he batted .448 with a .484 on-base percentage, a 1.000 slugging percentage, 10 runs scored, and 11 RBIs. On May 20, Ward exited a game against the Oakland Athletics after colliding with the right field wall and was considered day-to-day. Ward suffered a hamstring injury in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 3 and was placed on the injured list on June 5. He returned to the Angels' lineup on June 14. Midway through the season, it was discovered that Ward's bat speed had dropped by about 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h) since his wall collision in May. Between the collision and the end of July, Ward batted .217 with a .610 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), a decrease from his pre-injury numbers. On August 13, Ward hit a walk-off two-run home run in the 11th inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins, his second career walk-off homer, to win 5–3. In late August, Ward did not make the Angels' trip for a series against the Toronto Blue Jays because of a Canadian travel ban against foreign nationals who had not received a COVID-19 vaccine. Ward finished the 2022 season batting .281 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs in 135 games. His .281 batting average and .360 OBP was the highest among qualified Angels batters and his 3.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was third-most on the team.
On January 13, 2023, Ward signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Angels, avoiding salary arbitration.
Los Angeles Angels
