Ward Trying to Follow in His Father’s Spikes

Baseball loves bloodlines. There have been many brother acts, including the DiMaggios--Joe, Vince and Dom--and countless father and son acts: Bobby and Barry Bonds, Gus and Buddy Bell, Ken and Ken Griffey Jr., to name a few.

Daryle Ward is hoping to join the latter fraternity.

His father, Gary Ward, played in the major leagues 12 seasons, with the Twins, Rangers, Yankees and Tigers. He presently coaches the Mets’ Kingsport (Tenn.) Class A team.

Ward, 21, who is in his third season of professional baseball, plays for the Tigers’ Lakeland (Fla.) Class A team in the Florida State League.

Ward has spent a great deal of his life in ballparks. He was a 15th-round selection in the June 1994 amateur draft after spending one year at Rancho Santiago College. Born in Lynwood, Ward graduated from Brethren Christian in 1993.

One of Ward’s most fond memories is taking batting practice in old Arlington Stadium when his father played there. One of Gary Ward’s teammates at the time was Buddy Bell, who now manages the Tigers.

It’s not surprising that Ward cannot think of being anything except a ballplayer--if only to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“My dad was probably my favorite player growing up,” said Ward, by phone from Lakeland, Fla., during a recent rain delay.

“He taught me many things about the game. But probably the most important thing he taught me was not to worry about anything you see that might not be fair, just keep playing.”

Offensively, Ward, who plays first base, is having another steady season, averaging .301, with seven home runs and 54 runs batted in. Last year, at Class A Fayetteville (N.C.), he batted .284, with 14 home runs and 106 RBIs and played in the South Atlantic League all-star game.

Detroit thought enough of Ward that he was sent to the organization’s Toledo (Ohio) triple-A club for a week to replace an injured player.

Like any minor leaguer, you’d expect Ward to be impatient to reach the majors, but he’s not. His father did a thorough job of educating him about minor league life.

“I haven’t seen anything my dad did not prepare me for,” Ward said. “Many kids have no idea when they first start.

“I feel I have a real good chance to make it eventually. When I was in the draft, there were other teams that would have taken me in the 20th round, but the Tigers thought of me being higher. And I don’t look at it as they took me because my dad played there. He’s finished playing, so there is no pressure.”

Ward tries to talk with his father every week, and said his dad has seen him play a couple times. “We’ve always been close,” Ward said.

The Tiger management has penciled in Ward to play winter ball in Hawaii this year. And they’re looking for him to trim down from 240 pounds.

“They want to see me between 225-230,” Ward said. “They think I would have more bat speed.

“Funny but my dad has been telling me the same thing . . . “

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You can tell a player to hang in there, that he can recover from serious injuries. But until he gets positive results, all the advice in the world doesn’t mean a thing.

Right-handed pitcher Mike Fyhrie is glad he hung in after undergoing arm surgery six years ago. His perseverance has paid off with a breakout season.

Fyhrie, 25, has compiled an 11-6 record with a 3.27 earned-run average for the Norfolk (Va.) Mets, New York’s triple-A farm club. It’s the first time in a long time, Fyhrie said, that he has been able to pitch all season.

Back in 1990, Fyhrie, a Westminster native, injured a ligament in his right elbow and underwent the so-called “Tommy John” surgery.

All this before he was drafted in 1991 by the Kansas City Royals.

“You’re often more effective two years after surgery,” Fyhrie said from Rochester, N.Y., where Norfolk was playing. “Fortunately, I’ve not had any real setbacks, just the usual aches and pains.”

Fyhrie had to make some adjustments. One of his favorite pitches was the slider (along with his sinker and changeup), but the slider can put tremendous stress on the elbow.

“It might have contributed to my injury,” Fyhrie said. “I had to change some things to take stress off my elbow.”

After being traded by the Royals to the Mets in March, Norfolk pitching coach Bob Apodaca changed Fyhrie’s grip and shortened his stride to the plate.

The payoff has come this season, with Fyhrie getting more ground ball outs instead of deep fly balls. In 21 starts over 135 innings, he has given up 122 hits, walked 27 and struck out 81.

“I’d love a chance to pitch with the Mets, but I’m not asking too many questions,” Fyhrie said. “I hope to get a September call-up.”

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Former Cal State Fullerton star Phil Nevin was recalled to the majors Saturday from the Tigers’ double-A team in Jacksonville (Fla.). At the time of his recall, Nevin, who is learning to become a catcher after spending the majority of his career in the infield, was batting .294 with 24 homers and 69 RBIs.

In his first game Saturday, Nevin was in the Tigers’ outfield. He had three hits and drove in a run in the Tigers’ 6-3 victory over Seattle. On Sunday, he was behind the plate, replacing catcher Mark Parent late in the game, and drew a walk in his only at-bat and stole a base. The Tigers lost, 9-3.