Dodgers' Ryan Ward gets first MLB hit after nearly 700 games in minors

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The smirks Ward saw on his teammates’ faces gave away the news that the 28-year-old wasn’t sure he’d ever hear: He was finally going to the big leagues. “Honestly, sitting here right now thinking about it, it feels like it went fast,” Ward said Sunday from the visiting dugout at Coors Field before his debut. “But, man, when I was down there, it felt like a long time.” Ward, an eighth-round selection in 2019, logged enough time at Triple-A (420 games) to become the affiliate’s career leader in home runs (94) and a 2025 Pacific Coast League MVP. The wait to reach the big leagues has turned this weekend into a blur. Upon getting the call in Albuquerque, Ward scurried from the dugout, down the tunnel and found his phone to call his parents. As it turns out, Carl Ward was watching the broadcast from his home in Millbury, Mass. He was puzzled when his son’s name was called in the first inning, but he saw Nick Senzel stepping up to the plate instead. “I was just like numb,” Carl Ward told The Athletic during an interview in the stands. “I’ve been waiting for this for my whole life for him. Knowing that he accomplished his dream and opened this door. I didn’t know how to act.” “I’m asking him, ‘Are you OK?’” recalled Jenn Ward. Ryan Ward’s family is here for his debut. Here they are after his first MLB hit and RBI. pic.twitter.com/QS5pX1E9QV — Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 19, 2026 The Dodgers needed an extra bat. Freddie Freeman was officially placed on the paternity list on Sunday as he and his wife, Chelsea, are expecting their fourth child. Ward earned his shot for at least a couple of days. It’s been a journey for someone who never sniffed a top prospect list. Instead, the outfielder and first baseman kept knocking on the door until the day finally came. “He’s going to get a shot,” Carl Ward said Sunday. “That’s all I can ask. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. He opened the door.” Ward had waited long enough when he stepped in to face Michael Lorenzen in the third inning on Sunday. So he swung at the first pitch. He flew out, but he made it. Ward was a big leaguer. An inning later, he came up to the plate with a couple of runners on and lined a ball into right field for his first hit and RBI. When Carl pointed to his son at first base from the stands, Ryan pointed right back. Waiting is a feeling Ward’s new manager can understand. Dave Roberts was a 28th-round pick who spent six seasons in the minor leagues before his debut, forging a career after beating the odds. He sees some of that in Ward. So Roberts took a liking to Ward, who had to wait his turn to join a roster of superstars. The Bryant University (Rhode Island) product progressed through the Dodgers system and hit all along the way. Ward even earned an invite to big-league camp ahead of the 2024 season. When Roberts sat him down at the end of that spring, he laid out a pathway for Ward to break through. The Dodgers needed Ward to refine his plate discipline, asking him to hunt the right pitches to maximize his clear hitting talent. Ward slugged 33 home runs that season, didn’t get the big-league call, and went to work on heeding the organization’s advice. Ward spent his offseason at home in Massachusetts, where he grew up watching Boston Red Sox games and modeling his game after David Ortiz. This time, Ward had his father move the pitching machine around unpredictably. Each time Carl Ward reset the machine, Ryan looked away. He trained himself to hunt certain pitches in the right zones. Things clicked from there, Ward said. His 2025 season at Triple A was dominant. Ward struck out less (his strikeout rate dropped from 26.8 percent to 18.7), walked more (his walk rate went up from 8.1 percent to 12.7), hit for a better average (.290, up from .265) and boosted his home run totals. “We’ve asked him to do a lot of different things. … And he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “It’s one of those stories where he (has) earned every bit of this opportunity.” It wasn’t enough for a call in 2025, even though the Dodgers lacked production from their left fielders. Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said this winter there were several times the organization considered a call-up, though they never pulled the trigger. Whenever a big leaguer was sent to Oklahoma City, Ward found a way to ask them what it took to make it. “Honestly, I used it to keep going,” Ward said. “OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there? What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better? I used it as fire to keep working.” Ryan with his first Major League hit and RBI! pic.twitter.com/v6Jc7oIHvJ — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2026 The Dodgers added him to the 40-man roster this winter, bringing Ward one step closer to debuting but also keeping him from minor-league free agency, where another club could’ve given him his shot. A poor spring training this year made him one of the team’s first cuts. Then Ward went to Oklahoma City and thrived as he’s always done. He hit .324 in his first 18 games before earning the call to the big leagues. Ward wasn’t initially supposed to be in Sunday’s lineup. Roberts tabbed Dalton Rushing to start at first base, trying to get the prized catching prospect a chance at more at-bats with Freeman out of the lineup. The manager changed his mind Saturday night. When he stopped by Rushing’s locker after the game to let him know of the change, Rushing stopped Roberts in his tracks. Rushing had become one of Ward’s closer friends in the Dodgers’ minor-league system, and Rushing was about to tell Roberts that Ward should start in his place. “I think a moment like this for him is bigger than me getting a start on a random Sunday in April,” Rushing said. “I think he’s worked for the last seven years for something like this. He’s earned it probably more than anyone I’ve ever got to play with.” So Ward got the start at first base on Sunday, hitting seventh against the Colorado Rockies and sharing a lineup with the likes of four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. “Everyone has pretty much assured me, just have fun,” Ward said. “They’ve told me I earned it. Just go out there and have fun, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Fabian Ardaya is a staff writer covering the Los Angeles Dodgers for The Athletic. He previously spent three seasons covering the crosstown Los Angeles Angels for The Athletic. He graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in May 2017 after growing up in a Phoenix-area suburb. Follow Fabian on Twitter @FabianArdaya