Blue Jays World Series hero proves that sometimes dreams do come true

Joe Carter was pretty sure something special was going to happen on October 23, 1993.

It was hours before Carter's Toronto Blue Jays would face the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. The Blue Jays were a win away from their second straight championship, but the Phillies had momemtum on their side, thanks to a 2-0 win in Game 5.

Speaking to Blue Jays social media, Carter said he woke up on October 23, 1993 and told his wife Diana he had a dream. It involved the number three and made Carter believe one thing was certain. "Something good is gonna happen at the ballpark today," Carter said to his wife. "So be ready."

Carter's dream comes true as home run clinches World Series win

The dream and Carter's upbeat attitude carried over to the ballpark. In an interview for the official MLB video about the 1993 World Series, Carter told teammates he had his saddle on, "so hop on." Carter was hitless in his last seven at-bats prior to his legendary blast, so it was probably nice for the team to hear the cleanup hitter was feeling confident.

As Blue Jays fans know, Toronto jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but the Phillies came back to take the lead 6-5 to the bottom of the ninth. As the bottom of the ninth started, Carter said in interviews the Blue Jays saw another sign that made them believe they were going to win. Phillies closer Mitch Williams wound up and was about to throw the first pitch home, when umpire Dana DeMuth, Phillies catcher Darren Daulton and Blue Jays leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson took off in different directions.

"We knew something special was going to happen," Carter said in the 1993 MLB video interview.

And fans know the rest of the story. Henderson walked, Devon White flew out and Paul Molitor singled. Then, up comes Carter in a clutch moment for the ages. The count was 2-2, after Carter swung at a pitch that was probably ball three. Carter has said he was just looking to get that tying run in, maybe by hitting something to the gap in the outfield.

He hit it to the gap alright. The gap beyond the left field wall. Carter's home run — and his wild run around the bases — was every player's dream come true: a World Series-winning home run. It's no wonder that the moment is one of the greatest in Blue Jays history, and possibly in all of baseball history.

Carter was known for being a hitter who could drive in runs, usually in big moments. During the 1993 season, most of Carter's 33 home runs either tied the game or put Toronto ahead. In fact, Carter and Juan Soto are the answers to a strange trivia question. Who are the only two players in MLB history who have driven in 100 runs in three straight seasons with three different teams? For Soto, it was the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and New York Mets from 2023 through 2025. For Carter, it was the Cleveland Indians, the San Diego Padres and the Blue Jays from 1989 through 1991.

Carter was in Toronto this week for a special announcement that the Blue Jays would be unveiling a statue commemorating Carter's home run. The statue will be unveiled in July between Gates 5 and 6 at the Rogers Centre.

The statue will be a nice addition and a long, overdue monument to an incredible moment in Blue Jays history. Immortalizing the moment makes sense, since the Carter home run lives on in a variety of ways. Every time Carter shows up in Toronto he gets an ovation, whether it's at a Raptors game or the World Series teams reunion in 2018.

The Adam Sandler movie "Big Daddy" uses the home run as a major plot point. Carter's daughter Kia once called him from the airport to tell him she saw a Phillies fan wearing a t-shirt that read, "Joe Carter ruined my childhood."

Sometimes dreams do come true. And sometimes dreams are remembered forever.