When the Orioles traded former first-round pick Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels on November 19, 2025, a majority of Birdland was stunned.
In return, the Orioles acquired 31-year-old outfielder Taylor Ward, who was coming off the best season of his career and entering the final year of his rookie contract. Less than a year later, Ward is on pace to accomplish something no Orioles player has ever done.
Ward was selected by the Angels in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Cal State. After debuting in 2018, he spent several seasons bouncing around the lineup as a utility player before breaking out in 2022.
That season, Ward appeared in 135 games and recorded 139 hits, 22 doubles, 23 home runs and a .281 batting average. His 3.5 WAR ranked second among Angels position players, trailing only Mike Trout’s 6.1 WAR.
While Ward remained productive over the next two seasons, his numbers dipped slightly. Between 2023 and 2024, he posted a .751 OPS while averaging roughly 117 hits, 22 doubles and 19.5 home runs per season.
Then came 2025.
Ward set career-highs across the board, blasting 36 home runs, driving in 103 runs, collecting 31 doubles and drawing 75 walks. The breakout campaign made him one of the most intriguing bats available on the trade market and eventually landed him in Baltimore.
Most Orioles fans expected Ward to bring right-handed power to the lineup. Instead, he has become one of baseball’s most disciplined hitters.
Through his first 67 games with Baltimore, Ward has collected 16 doubles and drawn 58 walks while consistently finding ways to get on base. Entering June, Ward had just two home runs despite ranking among the team’s most valuable offensive contributors.
That patient approach has put him on track for a feat never before accomplished by an Orioles player.
Since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954, no Orioles hitter has recorded both 50 doubles and 100 walks in the same season.
As of June 10, Ward sits at 16 doubles and 58 walks. With 95 games remaining, he needs 34 more doubles and 42 more walks to become the first Oriole to reach both milestones in a single season.
If he does, Ward would join an incredibly exclusive group. The last player to accomplish the feat was David Ortiz in 2007, and only 11 players since 1901 have recorded that feat. That list includes National Baseball Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Lou Gehrig.
Since 1954, nine Orioles have produced 12 seasons with at least 100 walks. Ken Singleton holds the franchise record with 118 walks in 1975 and remains the only Oriole to reach the mark three times.
Ward’s pace has already placed him among some elite company. His 58 walks through 67 games are tied with Mickey Tettleton for the fastest any Orioles player has reached that total.
The doubles pace is a bit more challenging.
Only five Orioles seasons have featured 50 or more doubles, with Brian Roberts’ franchise-record 56 doubles in 2009 leading the way. Ward reached 16 doubles in his 62nd game, a slower pace than those previous 50-double campaigns, but the mark remains well within reach.
Is it too early to start talking about history? Maybe.
But Ward’s ability to use the entire field, combined with the dimensions of Camden Yards and the warmer summer months ahead, gives him a legitimate chance. With 95 games left to play, Oriole fans have another reason to keep an eye on their leadoff hitter.
What started as a surprising and somewhat confusing trade may end with one of the most unique offensive seasons in franchise history.
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