Blue Jays: What happened to Joe Carter’s infamous home run ball?

According to Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell, there’s a good little story about what happened to the ball from Joe Carter’s infamous home run in 1993.

If you asked me to make a list of the top ten most exciting moments in my life, the Blue Jays winning the World Series in 1992 and 1993 would likely take up two spots.

I was hooked on baseball and the Blue Jays at a very young age, and it didn’t help my addiction that my favourite team won the World Series in 1992 when I was just eight years old. However, it was forever cemented the following year when the Blue Jays not only repeated as champions, but my favourite player had an iconic moment that will live forever in baseball lore.

Of course, I’m talking about Joe Carter‘s infamous home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, walking off the Phillies in storybook fashion. I remember running around my Step-Father’s living room with my arms pumped in the air, so excited I wasn’t unable to form words. Nearly the exact scenario I had dreamed of had taken place, and could only have been better if I was the one hitting the series-clinching home run.

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I was reminded of this wonderful moment while perusing Twitter last night, and I came across a Tweet from Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell. In it, Campbell mentions the long-told story that Carter’s home run ball was never retrieved, and that some anonymous fan likely has it in their possession somewhere.

When a moment of that magnitude takes place in Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame will usually jump on the situation and make sure they secure a little piece of history. In this case, the Hall of Fame wanted the baseball that Carter smacked over the left field fence, but they were told that during the excitement and celebration, no one had bothered to retrieve it. However, according to Campbell’s tweet, that’s not exactly the case.

Apparently someone retrieved the ball and made sure it got back to its rightful owner in the World Series hero. It’s a tremendous honour to be involved with any piece of memorabilia that’s displayed in the Hall of Fame, but I’m sure there are several players who would rather have the items in their personal collection. You may also remember that Carter was at first base when Mike Timlin secured the final out of the 1992 World Series as well, and he handed the ball over to the 26 year old during celebrations.

For what it’s worth, Carter apparently said that if he ever sells the iconic home run baseball from 1993, that it will only be sold to a Canadian. I can’t imagine I’ll be coming into that kind of disposable income any time soon, so perhaps I should start saving now.