Carter’s Winning Blast Triggered Crying Game

From any angle, it was a great story.

When Joe Carter was told in 1990 that he’d been traded to Toronto, he cried.

But on this night six years ago, Toronto had gone from the worst place to be to a baseball paradise in Carter’s mind.

Of course, this was moments after he’d given the Blue Jays a World Series championship with a ninth-inning, three-run homer against Philadelphia at Toronto’s SkyDome.

“There was a time when I actually had Toronto in my contract as one of the no-trade teams,” he said, in a jubilant clubhouse. “Now I can’t think of a better place to be in the world. This is absolute paradise.”

And it was hell on Earth for Mitch Williams, who had served up the Series-ending pitch to Carter. Williams sat on a stool in front of his locker, sobbing openly.

His fastball, with one out in the ninth, went where he didn’t want it to go--on the inside part of the plate, waist high. Carter hit it to left, and it cleared the fence by about four feet. It produced an 8-6 victory for Toronto, and, in six games, its second consecutive Series championship.

In the previous off-season, Carter had turned down an offer for more money, $10 million, to leave Toronto for Kansas City.

He became the second man to end a World Series with a home run, the first having been Bill Mazeroski, in 1960.

There was another three-run homer that day, struck by the Phillies’ Lenny Dykstra. It was his fourth of the Series and gave him a World Series home-runs-to-at-bat ratio of 11.2, second only to Babe Ruth.

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Also on this date: In 1971, Greg Pruitt rushed for 297 yards on 17 carries, leading Oklahoma to an NCAA-record 711 yards rushing and a 78-25 victory over Kansas State. In 1976, Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett rushed for 180 yards in a 45-0 victory over Navy and became the NCAA’s all-time rusher with 5,206 yards. In 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs broke the NHL record for victories at the start of a season, winning their ninth game in a row, 2-0 over the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1994, Tyrone Hughes returned kickoffs for 92 and 98 yards for touchdowns in the New Orleans Saints’ 37-34 victory over the Rams. Robert Bailey of the Rams set an NFL record with a 103-yard punt return.