Joe Carter's1993 World Series home run was abaseball play that occurred in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series on October 23, 1993, atSkyDome inToronto,Ontario,Canada. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Joe Carter hit a one-out, three-runwalk-off home run offPhiladelphia Phillies closerMitch Williams to give theToronto Blue Jays its second consecutive championship.
It was the firstWorld Series win with a walk-off home run by a team that was trailing, and just the second World Series to end on a walk-off home run. In1960,Pittsburgh Pirates second basemanBill Mazeroski hit ahome run offNew York Yankees pitcherRalph Terry to win Game 7 by a score of 10–9.
Radio sportscasterTom Cheek's call of "Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"[1] is regarded as an iconic moment inToronto sports history.
After the1992 season, the Blue Jays letWorld Series heroDave Winfield and longtime closerTom Henke go but signed two key free agents: designated hitterPaul Molitor from theMilwaukee Brewers and perennial playoff successDave Stewart from theOakland Athletics.
In 1993, the Blue Jays had seven All-Stars: outfieldersDevon White and Joe Carter, infieldersJohn Olerud andRoberto Alomar, designated hitter Molitor, plus starting pitcherPat Hentgen, and closerDuane Ward. In August, the Jays acquired former nemesisRickey Henderson from the Athletics. In the regular season, three Blue Jays—John Olerud, Paul Molitor and Roberto Alomar—finished 1-2-3 for the ALbatting crown. The Blue Jays cruised to a 95–67 record, one less win than 1992 and seven games ahead of theNew York Yankees, winning their third straight division title.
The 1993 Phillies were led by stars such asDarren Daulton,John Kruk,Lenny Dykstra, andCurt Schilling. The team was often described as "shaggy", "unkempt", and "dirty." The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cutDale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon" (referring to Murphy). Their character endeared them to fans, and attendance reached a record high the following season. As a play on the legendary1927 New York Yankees'Murderers' Row, the team's dirty,mullet-wearing look was dubbed "Macho Row." To the surprise of many, the Phillies powered their way to a 97–65 record and an East division title, powered by the team's 17–5 record in April. Each game brought a new hero, and the season was filled with odd and extraordinary games. The 1993 Phillies team was also noted for the close bond between the players and coaching staff.
The Phillies' major contributors on offense were OFLenny Dykstra, 1BJohn Kruk, SSKevin Stocker (a rookie who led the team in batting average, hitting .324), and OFJim Eisenreich, all of whom hit over .300 for the season. Their pitching staff was led by 16-game winnersCurt Schilling andTommy Greene. Each member of the rotation posted at least 10 wins, while the bullpen was led by elder statesmanLarry Andersen and closerMitch "Wild Thing" Williams, who notched 43 saves and a 3.34ERA.
The Phillies beat theAtlanta Braves (the two-time defending National League champions) in the1993 National League Championship Series, four games to two, to earn the fifth pennant in franchise history.Mitch Williams struck outBill Pecota to end Game 6 by the score of 6–3.Curt Schilling with an 1.69ERA and 19 strikeouts was named the NLCS MVP. They faced the defending World Series championToronto Blue Jays in the1993 World Series, who beat theChicago White Sox 4 games to 2 in theAmerican League Championship Series.
Williams earned a save in Game 2 of the series, relievingTerry Mulholland as the Phillies tied the series at a game each. However, Williams suffered the loss in Game 4, the highest-scoring game in World Series history, as the Blue Jays came back from a 14–9 deficit, scoring six times in the eighthinning to earn a 15–14 victory and take a 3–1 series lead. It remains the highest scoring game in World Series history. Afterwards, Williams received death threats from angry Phillies fans for blowing the game.[2]
After the Phillies won Game 5 in a complete-game shutout byCurt Schilling, the series returned to Toronto for Game 6.
The sixth game in the series was a rematch between Game 2 startersTerry Mulholland andDave Stewart, who would have similar results. Toronto opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first with a run-scoringPaul Molitor triple,Joe Carter sacrifice fly, andRoberto Alomar RBI single. Molitor added a solo home run in the 5th inning, bringing the score to 5–1 for Toronto.
In the 7th inning, Philadelphia fought back with five runs to take a 6–5 lead.Lenny Dykstra hit a three-run home run (his fourth home run in the World Series),Dave Hollins had an RBI single andPete Incaviglia hit a sacrifice fly. The inning brought an end toDave Stewart's night, leaving the game with 6 innings pitched and 4 runs given up.
With Philadelphia clinging to a 6–5 lead, closerMitch Williams came on to pitch the bottom of the 9th. After beginning the inning by walkingRickey Henderson, perhaps the best base-runner ever, Williams tried to hold Henderson on base by using a slide-step style of pitching delivery. He had never before used such a delivery, and it may have slowed his pitches. Williams gotDevon White to fly out, then gave up a single toPaul Molitor. Joe Carter came up next and, on a two-strike pitch, hit an inside pitch just over the left field fence for a three-run walk-off home run, giving the Blue Jays a come-from-behind 8–6 victory, and the World Series crown. Upon hitting the home run, Carter jumped up and down many times, most notably while rounding first base, where his helmet came off.
This was the lastmajor North American professional sports championship won by a Canadian-based team until 2019, when theToronto Raptors, a team that was formed in 1995, defeated the two-time defending championGolden State Warriors in asix-game NBA Finals.
Williams later placed the blame on himself for what happened in the 1993 World Series, adding that he had put the ordeal behind him:
Everybody saw what happened,. . . . I made a mistake, and he hit the mistake. I let my team down today. I'm not going to go home and commit suicide or anything....They did what they had to do to win this series. And I let us down in big situations. I carry that burden. No excuses. I didn't get the job done.
Williams also said:
I'm not going to go home and commit suicide. . . . I wish I hadn't thrown it down and in to Carter. I was trying to keep the ball away from him. It was a mistake. . . . It ain't comin' back. . . . I can't replay it and win it. . . . I can't change this one, much as I'd like to, if only because my teammates busted their butts. I let 'em down. . . . But don't expect me to curl up and hide from people because I gave up a home run in the World Series. Life's a bitch. I could be digging ditches. I'm not.
In 2011, 17 years after giving up the World Series home run, Williams said he regretted using the slide step when pitching to Carter. In a joint interview with Carter for the MLB Network's 20 Greatest Games series, Williams said he hadn't used the slide step before but was talked into doing so by pitching coachJohnny Podres after allowing a walk to base-stealing legendRickey Henderson.[10]
Williams had 102 lefty saves with the Phillies, but the Carter blast was the end of the line for him in Philadelphia. The Phillies traded him to theHouston Astros before the 1994 season. Williams never regained his form; he registered only two wins and six saves in his final three major-league seasons, with an ERA of 6.75 or above in all three. After two months with Houston in 1994, Williams closed out his major-league career with equally short stints with theCalifornia Angels in 1995 and theKansas City Royals in 1997.
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