Daryle Ward
A powerful left-handed slugger known for delivering monumental home runs, including one that made history at his father's old ballpark.
Born 1975 (age 51)·American baseball player·Birthday: June 27·Generation X
Biography
Daryle Ward carried the weight of a baseball lineage—his father, Gary, was a major league star—and answered it with raw, thunderous power. For over a decade, he served as a valuable left-handed bat off the bench and a occasional starter, a role player who could change a game with one swing. His career was a tour of the National League, with stops from Houston to Chicago, always bringing the threat of a deep fly ball. Ward secured his place in baseball lore on July 6, 2002, while with the Houston Astros. At Milwaukee's Miller Park, he launched a pitch into the second deck in right field, becoming the first player ever to hit a ball into that remote tier. It was a fitting feat for a player whose talent was defined by its majestic, if not always consistent, heights. Today, he passes on his hitting knowledge as a coach in the minors.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Daryle was born in 1975, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Daryle Was Born
The biggest hits of 1975
#1 Movie
Jaws
Best Picture
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Daryle's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1975Born
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1980Started school
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1988Became a teenager
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Could drive
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1993Could vote
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1996Turned 21
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2005Turned 30
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 40
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 50
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 51 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Hit the first home run ever into the second deck in right field at Milwaukee's Miller Park in 2002.
- Recorded a .263 career batting average with 90 home runs over 11 MLB seasons as a potent pinch-hitter and part-time starter.
- Hit for the cycle on May 26, 2004, while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Did You Know?
He is the son of former MLB All-Star and outfielder Gary Ward.
Ward was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 15th round of the 1994 MLB draft but did not sign.
He played for the Chicago Cubs during their back-to-back National League Central division titles in 2007 and 2008.
After playing, he became a hitting coach in the Cincinnati Reds' farm system.
“My job was to be ready to hit when my name was called.”
