#2: “Touch ‘em all, Joe”
Philadelphia Phillies (6) at Toronto
Blue Jays (8)
Saturday, October 23, 1993
World Series, Game 6
SkyDome
Everyone
has seen the footage a million times. Joe Carter slugging a three-run home run
over the left-field wall at SkyDome off of Phillies’ closer, Mitch Williams, to
give the Blue Jays a walk-off win in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, the
second—and to date, last—time the World Series has ended on a home run. But the
game itself was a roller coaster of emotions for the Jays and their fans, with
the home team dominating the first six innings, the Phillies the next two, and
then the rally in the bottom of the ninth.
It
was a high scoring World Series, with Toronto winning games 1, 3 and 4 by
scores of 8-5, 10-3 and 15-14, and the Phillies winning Game 2, 6-4, and Game
5—the only pitchers’ duel of the Series—by a score of 2-0. For the sixth game,
Toronto would go to their post-season ace, Dave Stewart while Philadelphia
would have Terry Mulholland on the hill.
After
Stewart retired the Phillies in the first without much trouble, the Jays
quickly jumped all over Mulholland in their first at bat. With one out,
centre-fielder Devon White walked. Then designated hitter, Paul Molitor,
tripled to the wall in right-centre to score White. Right-fielder, Joe Carter,
then hit a sacrifice fly to score Molitor. Toronto was ahead, 2-0. But the Jays
didn’t stop there. A double by first baseman John Olerud was followed by an RBI
single by second baseman Roberto Alomar and the lead was up to three.
The
two teams traded zeros in the second and third, but the Phillies finally
scratched a run off Stewart in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Jim
Eisenreich. But Toronto quickly got that back in their half of the inning when
Alomar scored on a sacrifice fly by third baseman, Ed Sprague. Then Molitor
would hit a solo home run in the fifth to extend the lead to 5-1.
Meanwhile,
Stewart was in control on the mound. While he allowed baserunners in almost
every inning—the second and sixth, he got he Phils in order—he easily pitched
himself out of trouble, allowing only the one run in the fourth. The way he was
pitching, and with Toronto tacking on runs, it looked like a foregone
conclusion that the Jays would be winning their second straight World
Championship by the end of the evening.
That
is until the top of the seventh, when Stewart faltered slightly and the bullpen
couldn’t help him out. He gave up a walk and a single to start the inning, then
surrendered a three-run home run to Phillies’ centre fielder, Lenny Dykstra,
who was having an MVP-type World Series. For the Series, Dykstra would have a
.348 average, hit four home runs, add eight RBIS, seven walks and score nine
runs.
With
the score now 5-4, Toronto manager Cito Gaston, removed Stewart from the came
in favour of relief pitcher Danny Cox. But Cox would have his own troubles,
giving up a single, a stolen base, then another single sandwiched around an out
to tie the game at five. Then he would surrender a walk and an infield hit to load
the bases.
Cox
was taken out in favour of Al Leiter, who got the first batter he faced, Pete
Incaviglia, to fly out. But Incaviglia’s fly ball was deep enough to score
Mariano Duncan from third to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead, stunning the Toronto
crowd. Leiter would get out of the inning without anymore damage, and then
would yield only a walk with no runs in the eighth.
The
Jays’ batters, after their outburst in the first half of the game, seemed to be
struggling now that the Phillies had taken the lead. The went down in order in
the seventh. In the eighth, two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, but
they were unable to get anyone in. It was on to the ninth and the Phillies were
looking to tie the Series and send it to a seventh game.
In
the top half of the ninth, Toronto closer Duane Ward got the Phillies in order
to keep the deficit at one, giving the Jays’ bats one more chance to tie, or
perhaps win the game to capture the World Series. They would be facing Philadelphia’s
closer, Mitch Williams, who despite his success in the regular season, was
having a horrible job in the post season, having blown a save in Game 4.
Toronto’s
left-fielder, Rickey Henderson, stepped in to face Williams to lead of the
inning. As the reliever went into the stretch, Henderson asked for time and
stepped out of the box. Home plate umpire, Dana DeMuth, granted the request but
Williams didn’t see it. He kicked up his leg to throw the first pitch.
Henderson back-pedaled quickly to get out of the way of any wild throw Williams
might uncork. DeMuth and Phillies’ catcher Darren Daulton did likewise.
It’s hard to say if
that little scene unsettled Williams, but he then proceeded to walk Henderson
on four pitches. The tying run was on base and the winning run was at the plate.
Devon White then made the first out when he sent a fly ball into the glove of
Incaviglia. Next up for Toronto was Molitor, who lined a base hit up the
middle, moving Henderson into scoring position and bringing Carter to the
plate.
Williams quickly fell
behind Carter in the count, two balls and no strikes. After Carter fouled off a
pitch, he swung badly at a pitch that was low and would have been ball three.
Williams came set and delivered the fifth pitch of the at bat. Seconds later,
SkyDome was bursting in celebration as Carter’s line drive cleared the left
field fence for the dramatic three-run walk-off home run. Toronto won the game
8-6 and the World Series four games to two.
No doubt, if you’re a
Blue Jays’ fan, you’ve seen the hi-lights of Carter leaping in the air as he
approached first base, losing his batting helmet, then running around the bases
with his fist pumping as fireworks exploded and his Blue Jays’ teammates and
over-exuberate fans flooded the field. Toronto had won back-to-back World
Series championships, the first team to do so since the New York Yankees in
1977 and 1978. Since Carter’s blast, only one other team has managed to repeat
as champions and that was again the Yankees who did it three years in a row,
1998, 1999 and 2000.
Paul Molitor was the
Series MVP with a .500 batting average, two homers, two triples, eight RBIs and
ten runs scored. Duane Ward was the winning pitcher of the deciding game,
bringing his career World Series win/loss total to 3-0, with a 1.13 ERA.
And yes, of course I
will close the memories of this game with the play-by-play call of long-time
Blue Jays’ radio broadcaster Tom Cheek: (click here for the audio.)
Two balls and two
strikes on him. Here's the pitch on the way. A swing and a belt! Left field ...
way back ... BLUE JAYS WIN IT! The Blue Jays are World Series Champions, as Joe
Carter hits a three-run home run in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays have
repeated as World Series Champions! Touch 'em all, Joe! You'll never hit a
bigger home run in your life!
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