O Canada: A Look at the 1992 & 1993 Toronto Blue Jays

For at least 20, maybe 25 years, I've often been fascinated by Canada. Our neighbors to the north, sitting right on top of us with a population of just over 40 million. The reasons are many. It's partly because of certain celebs from that country--Pamela Anderson, Ryan Reynolds, Jim Carrey, to name a few. Canada definitely fascinates me as a wrestling fan, because not only does Canada really love wrestling, a lot of known names are from there. Big names such as the Hart Family, Edge, Christian, Trish Stratus, and current names such as Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and two of my favorites in women's wrestling, Chelsea Green and Taya Valkyrie. But in the end, when Canada gets mentioned to me, the first thing I think of is sports.

Now we've all heard the same shit when it comes to Canada and sports. "Canada is a hockey country." "Hockey is all they have." Never mind the fact that they've had their own pro football league for over a century. To everyone else (especially Americans with little to no international curiosity), Canada's one sport will always be hockey. That changed in 1969, when Major League Baseball crossed the northern border with the introduction of the Montréal Expos into the National League. The Expos marked the first Canadian franchise from outside the NHL, but they would not be the last. Eight years later, one of two teams to debut in the American League was the Toronto Blue Jays, the subject of this story.

The Blue Jays' first three seasons saw them lose 100+ games each, though the 80s would be a huge positive for the team. 1983 saw the Jays win 89 games--their first winning season in the team's short history, and it came in Year Seven. They had the same record on the following year, finishing second in the AL East behind the eventual World Champion Detroit Tigers, but 1985 would see even more improvement. 99 wins. Their first division title in franchise history. However, that year's American League Championship Series saw the Jays lose in seven games (the first year the LCS was best-of-seven) to the eventual World Champion Kansas City Royals. Even so, the Jays remained in the thick of things after that, adding two more AL East crowns in 1989 and 1991.

And then, 1992 happened.

The Jays were close. They could feel it. They made some key signings during that 1991 offseason. They actually managed to snag Dave Winfield during that period, and they also signed Jack Morris. You read that right. Jack Morris, he of the famous 10-inning shutout in Game Seven of 1991's Fall Classic, headed just further up north and signed a two year deal with the Jays. It was during 1992's season that the Jays also acquired David Cone in a trade with the New York Mets, bolstering up that pitching staff.

Batting-wise, the 1992 Jays were centered by players such as Roberto Alomar (who led the team in batting average with a .310 tally) and Joe Carter (whose 34 homers and 119 RBIs led the team in both categories). Winfield had 26 dingers of his own, and drove in 108 runs that year. Regarding pitching, Jack Morris led the team in wins with 21, while Juan Guzman was the ERA (2.64) and strikeouts (165) leader. The rotation also included not only Cone, but two more names we Yankees fans would know: David Wells and Jimmy Key.

The Jays went 96-66 in 1992 and clinched their second straight AL East title on October 3 of that year. In the American League Championship Series, the Jays faced off against the Oakland Athletics, who defeated the Jays in 1989 as part of their World Championship season. The two teams had the same record, but the Jays had home field advantage because it was the East's turn to have it. However, Game One at the SkyDome went to the A's thanks to a Harold Baines homer in the top of the ninth. Toronto salvaged a split in the first two games, but when the series switched to the Bay Area, the Jays dominated, winning Games Three and Four--the latter in extra innings after trailing 6-1. The Jays were one win away from their first pennant in franchise history, but the A's would take Game Five to force the series back across the border. In Game Six at the SkyDome, the Jays struck first, and struck hard, winning 9-2 and capturing their first pennant in their 16-year history. Roberto Alomar, who homered twice in the series, was named ALCS MVP, as epic history was made.

For the first time in the near 90-year history of the World Series, the Fall Classic took place in Canada. The Jays faced off against the Atlanta Braves, who were coming off that seven-game World Series loss a year prior. This was the Braves' second straight division crown in their long and memorable streak, and they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS to win their second straight pennant. The first two games took place in Atlanta (as it was the NL's turn to have home field). The Braves defeated Jack Morris in Game One, but lost Game Two thanks to a pinch-hit HR by Ed Sprague Jr. Game Three was the historic game--the first World Series game to take place in Canada. The Jays won Game Three in walk-off fashion, and won a pitchers' duel in Game Four. However, Morris was bested by the Braves again in Game Five, forcing the Series back to Atlanta. Game Six ended up going to extras, and in the 11th, Dave Winfield drove in two runs to give Toronto a 4-2 lead. The Braves cut their deficit in half, but could not tie it.

The Blue Jays won their first World Championship in franchise history on October 24, 1992, and with that, a Canadian team won the Fall Classic for the first time ever. It also marked the first time a Canadian team won something other than the Stanley Cup. Pat Borders was named World Series MVP, hitting .450 in the Fall Classic. More history was made with this win, as Jays manager Cito Gaston became the first Black manager to win a World Series, with only Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts going on to join him on that short list. Despite going 0-2 in the Fall Classic, Jack Morris has the super rare distinction of winning back-to-back rings with two different teams from two different countries.

And as it turned out, Canada loved this whole "winning the World Series" thing so much that they decided to do it again.

Quite a few things changed entering 1993. Jimmy Key went off to the Yankees, and would plague the Braves again in 1996. David Cone went to KC, and Dave Winfield went to Minnesota. However, they would snag Paul Molitor (one of the great DHs during that period) from the Brewers, and they actually took longtime nemesis Dave Stewart from Oakland. He wasn't the only player they took from Oakland. Following Stewart across the border was none other than the late, great Rickey Henderson--the greatest of all time.

The 1993 Jays were dangerous. Four batters hit .300, with John Olerud's .363 average leading the team. Similar to last year, Joe Carter was the HR and RBI leader, hitting 33 homers and driving in 121 runs. Carter was one of three Jays with 100+ RBIs that year. The other two: Paul Molitor (111) and the aforementioned Olerud (107). Regarding pitching, Pat Hentgen led with 19 wins, and while his 3.87 ERA was pretty high, it was low enough to lead the team. Juan Guzman again led the team in strikeouts, this time racking up 194. The Jays went 95-67 in 1993, a one game drop from the previous year, but won the AL East by seven games over the Yankees, their third straight division crown and fourth in five years, doing so in what would be the final year under the original divisional format.

In the ALCS, the Jays faced off against the Chicago White Sox, who won the AL West for only the second and final time (their only other division title--at that time--came a decade prior). It was the West's turn to have home fieid (the final year with that rule of divisions taking turns having home field), but the Jays won both of the first two games at Comiskey Park, allowing them to head home up 2-0 in the series. The Canadian heart of the series saw the White Sox take Games Three and Four to even the series, but the Jays managed to take Game Five to go up 3-2. Back in the Windy City, the Jays entered the ninth up 3-2, and added three more runs for insurance. Toronto went on to win, 6-3, to win their second straight pennant. With two wins in the series, Dave Stewart was named ALCS MVP.

In the 1993 World Series, the Jays faced off against the Philadelphia Phillies, who defeated the Braves in the NLCS, preventing a rematch and a third straight pennant for Atlanta. The Jays had home field because it was the American League's turn to have it (a practice that would end a decade later). Jays won Game One, 8-5, in what many thought would be a pitchers' duel, but the Phillies took Game Two to salvage a split. The Series switched to Philly's famous Veterans Stadium, with Toronto winning Game Three, 10-3, followed by a wild Game Four that saw the Jays put up six runs in the eighth inning, coming back from five down to win 15-14! The Jays were one win away from repeating, but the Phils shut out the Jays in Game Five, in what would be the final postseason game to emanate from Veterans Stadium.

And then, Game Six. Back in Toronto. Jays went up 3-0 and 5-1, but the Phils came back with five runs in the 7th. The 6-5 score stood entering the bottom of the ninth. Rickey Henderson was walked. Devon White flew out, and Paul Molitor singled. The winning runs were on, and Joe Carter came up. Count was 2-2 after four pitches from Mitch Williams, and pitch #5... well, I'll let this photo say it for me.

The second, and most recent, World Series clinching walk-off home run in the history of the Fall Classic. A three-run shot to give the Jays an 8-6 victory! Fireworks went off at the SkyDome in celebration of the Blue Jays' second straight World Championship, which was clinched on October 23, 1993. As Carter jumped around the bases, we were treated to this famous call from the late, great Tom Cheek, the radio voice of the Blue Jays:

"Touch 'em all, Joe! You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"

Despite Carter's heroics, the World Series MVP nod went to Paul Molitor, who hit .500, homered twice, drove in eight runs, and scored ten times in the Series. Wow! Toronto's second straight World Series win capped off a huge calendar year for Canada, as 1993 was the only year to feature two Canadian teams winning major championships. Months prior, the Montréal Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup--the most recent Cup for a Canadian team.

The landscape of MLB changed after the 1993 season, as the divisions were realigned in 1994, and 1995 officially introduced a new opening postseason round. It also marked the end of an impressive stretch for the Blue Jays. In the nine seasons played between 1985 and 1993, the Jays won the AL East five times, and won back-to-back pennants and World Championships in the last two years of that stretch. This would be followed by 21 straight seasons without a postseason, with ten of them resulting in winning records. The last decade has seen the Jays in the postseason five times, with their most recent division crown coming in 2015. As for Canada overall, we've seen Canadian teams win the MLS Cup and the NBA Championship, but the latter is another story for another time. The 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays not only made Canada proud, they truly showed out in legendary fashion with their epic championship victories.