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Flashback Friday: Looking at Joe Carter’s walk-off home run 33 years ago
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Photo credit: © USA TODAY Sports
Cynthia Ryley Delaney
Oct 23, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 23, 2026, 15:19 EDT
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On this day 33 years ago, the biggest home run in Toronto Blue Jays’ history was hit.
There’s been a handful of big home runs in franchise history: George Springer and Bo Bichette’s home runs last year, Edwin Encarnación in 2016, and José Bautista in 2015. However, all pale in comparison to Joe Carter’s blast to capture the 1993 World Series.
In this edition of Flashback Friday, we’ll look at Carter’s “touch ‘em all” home run and the 1993 playoffs.

The set up

The Blue Jays entered the 1993 season as the defending World Series champions, defeating the Atlanta Braves in six games. While that decisive Game 6 didn’t end in walk-off fashion, the Blue Jays scored twice in the top of the 11th to capture what was then the only World Series to head north of the border. They had a knack for the theatrics.
For the second consecutive season, the Blue Jays first in the American League East, something that needed to be done to make the playoffs back in those days. They finished with a 95-67 record, a seven-game cushion over the New York Yankees. On top of that, they finished with the third-most runs scored (847).
In the American League Championship Series, the Jays took the first two games against the Chicago White Sox, before the White Sox won the first two games at the Skydome. A 5-3 victory in Game 5 pushed the White Sox to the brink, and a 6-3 victory in Game 6 sent the Blue Jays to the World Series for a date against the Phillies.
The teams split the first two games in Toronto, but the Blue Jays responded with 10-3 victory in Game 3 and a historic 15-14 victory in Game 4, pushing the Phillies to the brink. They failed to close it out in Pennsylvania, falling 2-0 and sending the two teams back to Ontario.

Before the home run

The Blue Jays were first to strike in Game 6, taking a 3-0 lead thanks to a RBI triple from Paul Molitor and a two-RBI single by Roberto Alomar. In the top of the fourth, the Phillies got on the board, but Ed Sprague restored the three-run lead thanks to a sacrifice fly, then Molitor hit a solo home run to put the Blue Jays up 5-1 with four innings to go.
After a scoreless sixth, the Jays needed three more outs to go back-to-back, but then came the top of the seventh.
Kevin Stocker walked, then Mickey Morandini hit a single to put two runners on. With one swing of the bat courtesy of Lenny Dykstra, the Phillies got to within one. Dave Stewart was pulled, but Danny Cox allowed his first base runner to reach. A stolen base and a one-out single tied the game, then a bases-loaded sacrifice fly saw the Phillies take a 6-5 lead.
With the Jays needing runs, the Phillies went three up, three down in the bottom of the seventh. The Blue Jays were oh so close to finding the tying run in the bottom of the eighth, but Pat Borders popped out to end the threat, giving the Blue Jays just three more outs to do something.

The home run

After a scoreless top of the ninth, Rickey Henderson led-off the ninth with a four pitch walk. Devon White battled, but lost it after flying out on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, bringing Molitor to the plate. He notched his third hit of the game, hitting a single to put runners on first and second with one out. Then up came Carter.
The Blue Jays’ icon watched the first two pitches miss the zone, putting him in a hitter’s count. He lost the advantage in the next two pitches, watching the third pitch land in the zone, followed by whiff on the fourth pitch of the count, giving the Blue Jays just four more strikes before a winner-take-all Game 7.
Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. The fifth pitch of the plate appearance turned out to be the final of the 1993 season, as Carter pulled the ball over the left field wall to walk it off.
This home run is in exceedingly rare company, as it’s just one of two times a World Series has been walked off with a home run. The only other time it has happened was all the way back in the 1960 World Series, 66 years ago as you read this article and 33 years ago when Carter hit his home run. Bill Mazeroski did it for the Pirates, hitting it in Game 7 against the Yankees.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.
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