Daryle Ward watched--and mimicked--many batters' swings before finding his own. NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES Visit the Photo Place

Bits of the past grace Ward's swing

Nationals report

Date published: 6/22/2006

By TODD JACOBSON

WASHINGTON--Daryle Ward got a firsthand glimpse of big league life growing up as the son of former major leaguer Gary Ward, but Ward did more than copy his dad.

The Nationals' back-up first baseman emulated everyone.

"Ever since he was 3 years old and I was in the minor leagues I would take him to the ball games and when we came home he would go through the whole lineup and do what they did that night," Gary Ward said.

So when Gary Ward played in Texas, his younger son could've been mimicking Buddy Bell.

When Ward was with the Minnesota Twins, it could've been a young Kent Hrbek.

In New York, it might've been Don Mattingly.

"Everyone," said Daryle Ward, grinning and offering an explanation of where his swing took root. "I wanted to be like everyone."

But he especially wanted to be a big leaguer like his dad, which is why he dragged around his dad's bat and it's why he hung around each clubhouse his dad's job took him through, absorbing as much as he could.

"You get exposed to it at a really young age," Daryle Ward said. "It's an advantage that a lot of people don't get to have. You are talking about as a 3 or 4 year old kid and I am traveling all over the country."

When he got older, he spent summers with his dad when it didn't conflict with his own Little League games, but vacation meant more baseball.

It wasn't unusual for Ward to step into the batting cage against major league talent.

"Charlie Hough used to throw us batting practice in Texas," Ward said, laughing when recalling the pitcher's notorious knuckleball. "I didn't hit many of those."

But he hit plenty--just like he has done this season with the Nationals.

After two seasons in Pittsburgh, Daryle Ward won a job with the Nationals this spring because of his swing and he has made himself an invaluable member of Washington's bench with his timely power punch.

Entering yesterday's game, Ward was hitting .291 with five homers and 11 RBIs, but he's done most of his damage as a pinch-hitter. He has three pinch-hit homers and eight RBIs.

He always had plenty of power, which explains some of the tape-measure shots he has hit with the Nationals.

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Date published: 6/22/2006