Joe Carter throws out first pitch for World Series Game 2

TORONTO — Joe Carter has told these stories a million times by now.

The Blue Jays legend, who authored one of the biggest moments in baseball history, canâ€t go a day without being asked about that home run to win the 1993 World Series. “Touch ‘em all, Joe†was this organizationâ€s finest moment, and Carter, all these years later, is still the perfect man to carry it.

Heâ€s leaned into what that moment meant — and continues to mean — to so many Blue Jays fans. At every charity event, celebrity gold tournament and alumni gathering, thatâ€s talked about as “the last time the Blue Jays were in the World Series.â€

With the Blue Jays carrying a 1-0 Series lead into Game 2 of the 2025 Fall Classic against the Dodgers, Carter reflected on what moments like these can mean for this generation of Blue Jays stars in Canada.

“If you close your eyes, swing hard and hit a home run, they will love you for the rest of your life,†Carter said, laughing. “Not just here in Toronto. What has really made my life complete is that you can go from as far east as Nova Scotia and as far west as Vancouver and it’s all about the Blue Jays, and it was all about Canada, and that has a warm place in my heart.â€

Carter lit up when he was asked about George Springerâ€s home run in Game 7 of the ALCS to send the Blue Jays to the World Series. Thereâ€s a fine argument to be made that it was the second-biggest home run in Blue Jays history, right behind Carterâ€s. He was home that night, watching alone, celebrating like everyone else.

“I’m jumping up and down, I’m hitting the walls,†Carter said. “It was as if I had relived the whole thing, because it was just that big because it’s been 32 years, and now it’s like, they can stop talking about the ’92 and ’93 Jays getting to the World Series, and they have something to put their hats on now because this is their time and their moment.â€

Blue Jays manager John Schneider has been in this organization for 23 years, so he knows what that moment means in this city.

Blue Jays fans have been waiting for a team like this 2025 group. Theyâ€ve held on tight to the ALCS runs of 2015 and ‘16, led by José Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnación, but neither of those star-studded rosters reached the World Series. Carterâ€s home run, all along, has been what the Blue Jays were chasing again.

“That has defined our organization, that swing,†Schneider said, “and that quote, ‘Touch ‘em all, Joe.†He was in here after the game last night with us and you almost forget who youâ€re talking to, because youâ€re just talking baseball. Itâ€s pretty cool to, all of these years later, have the guy here throwing out the first pitch in the World Series. I remember that like it was yesterday, with Mitch Williams falling off the mound and fireworks going off.â€

Carter was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2, just like his old manager, Cito Gaston, did before Game 1.

Schneider was out to catch Gastonâ€s first pitch, putting the only two managers to take the Blue Jays to the World Series together. Schneider and Gaston have a relationship now, built on their time together over the years and a few games of golf, but that moment was still special to the 45-year-old manager.

“He just said, ‘I love what youâ€re doing. I love the way your team plays. You should be very proud of what youâ€ve done,â€â€ Schneider shared. “I said that meant a lot coming from him. I told him on the field after I caught the pitch, ‘Iâ€m humbled to be out here with you on this stage with these people.†I tried to not walk out with him and let him walk first, because he deserves that.â€

Gaston told Schneider that it would be “the shortest first pitch in history†and not to squat down, then delivered a 10-foot strike. Schneider couldnâ€t believe it when Gaston handed him a ball and asked the current Blue Jays manager to sign it for his mantle.

“I did, and we made a promise that Iâ€d get one from him,†Schneider said.

All the legends are out for Game 2. Theyâ€ve been legends now for 33 years, since the Blue Jays won their first World Series in 1992, and theyâ€ve been waiting long enough for a new team to join the club.

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