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Inside Baseball
Hot-hitting Daryle Ward is odd man out in the Astros' loaded outfield By Stephen Cannella
The abilities of the 34-year-old Alou, a three-time All-Star who last year drove in more than 100 runs for the third time in his last three seasons, are well-known, and Hidalgo, now 25, revealed himself to be one of the game's rising stars with his 44-homer, 122-RBI performance in 2000. Relative unknowns Ward and Berkman, who hit 20 and 21 homers, respectively, last season (though neither had more than 353 at bats), give the Houston outfield extraordinary depth. The switch-hitting Berkman, 25, is starting ahead of Ward because of his superior defensive skills. The Astros' top pick in the 1997 draft and originally a first baseman, Berkman rocketed through Houston's system after being shifted to the outfield four years ago. He was called up twice last year and appeared in 114 games. "At the winter meetings his name came up in trade talks more than anyone else's on our team," says Houston manager Larry Dierker. "We still had [outfielder] Roger Cedeño at the time, and everybody wanted Berkman, but nobody was going to get him." Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker says he regularly fields calls from teams asking about Ward, whose graceful lefthanded swing is the envy even of such accomplished teammates as Alou, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. The son of former major leaguer Gary Ward, he too is a converted first baseman who mashed his way through the organization. After bouncing between the majors and minors in 1998 and '99, Ward stuck with the Astros all of last season. He showed his power but also frustrated Houston management with his lack of patience at the plate (15 walks in 281 plate appearances) and his ballooning weight. This winter the 6'2" Ward dropped about 10 pounds and reported to spring training at 235. "He worked hard on his own this off-season," says Hunsicker, who three years ago sent Ward to a weight-loss clinic at Duke. "He came to camp in the best shape we've ever seen him in." "Daryle watches the game and knows the game, and he's got a great swing," says Biggio. "He can hit any pitch. If he gets the chance to play every day, he'll drive in a ton of runs." Despite Ward's hot start that chance may be hard to come by this season: His at bats will come when Dierker rests Alou or first baseman Bagwell. Hunsicker insists he has no plans to deal any of his outfielders. "I'm not in the business of giving away assets," he says. "This is part of winning championships -- creating quality depth on your team." Issue date: April 23, 2001
For more Inside Baseball see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, April 18. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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