MLB Baseball's Seasons: 1993

[Music] [Applause] [Music] welcome to baseball season's 1993 baseball at a Crossroads go crazy [Applause] [Music] two runs and they're the world champion it's a scenario that's been drawn up in thousands maybe millions of baseball fantasies [Applause] [Music] [Applause] bottom of the ninth Runners on base a home run doesn't just win the game it wins this series as the crowd Rises to its feet everything goes silent the pitcher looks in for the sign and gets it the wind up and the delivery the final pitch of the 93 season was the culmination of a journey that for the two teams left standing began in almost exactly opposite places the Toronto Blue Jays were defending Champions [Applause] the fans of Toronto were so into that team you're a Canadian okay I won't hold it against you they had speed they had power you can forget about it Joe Carter puts one up in the seats they had excellent starting pitching those were the days where the Blue Jays or the prime team in the league World Champs we're back again time to repeat but if the Blue Jays were going to repeat a 93 they would need to replace key pieces of the 92 team not returning to Toronto Pat gillick really made some keemus in that 93 season to help solidify the great offense Paul moliter was the pickup Molitor a prolific hitter for 15 Seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers would be joining a lineup headline by All-Stars Robbie Alamar and Joe Carter making an already formidable offense even stronger coming over from the Brewers and jokingly all year long he said you know if you can't beat him join him so uh I've been chasing these guys for a long time the Jays also needed a starter after their Hired Gun for the 92 stretch run had left him free agency they weren't going to be able to sign David Cohn and when they couldn't do that they said they were going to go after me pretty good and they did Dave Stewart arrived with a championship pedigree of his own from Oakland along with a leadership presence that was just as important he's one of those guys that galvanized everybody hey let's go to dinner you're not being left out and those little gestures create a team along the way hopefully we're going to do what no other team has done since the 77-78 Yankees we want to back to back this thing we got something new guys waiting expectations were not as high for the Philadelphia Phillies in the spring of 1993. the team was coming off six straight losing seasons including a last place finish in 1992. those were not happy times every year 60 000 people would show up on opening day and then most of them would never come back and the people who did come back they weren't happy people they weren't happy to be there the club had struggled for a number of years but I thought we had the makings of a club that could contend within a year or so that optimism had its roots in a trio of hitters known as much for their Brash and colorful personalities as their offensive talents swagging a long drive to deep bright catcher Darren Dolby all right from home run outfielder Lenny Dykstra nail the first baseman this is me well he's skinny so that ain't me I know beard he looks like he can run too so I know that definitely is not me we knew we could score runs we had an offense that was built on scoring runs but we never did have pitching if we got consistent starting pitching we didn't know we could win but we thought we could compete while the Phillies hoped for Quality pitching the Atlanta Braves banked on it we had great starting pitching strike three called outside Avery got it from the fastball [Applause] Z and glavin and Avery when those guys took them out he had real confidence they were going to win a ball game [Applause] [Music] their young pitchers were starting to develop into mature pitchers and I thought that you know if they could add some people along the way they had a chance to have a long run Smoltz wins the battle do you have better pitching than everybody else you're going to have a better chance to win and that was our philosophy a philosophy that led the already pitching Rich Braves to make a huge addition in 93. an organization like ours made an extraordinary effort signing Greg Maddox to have a guy like Greg Matic should become the Bell cow of our pitching staff and to lead those already talented guys that just showed that the Atlanta Braves are going to have to be reckoned with going forward Maddox was a big signing but an even bigger free agent Splash Was Made In the City by the bay when the Giants got the reigning NL MVP to head West bonds came with Incredible across-the-board skills an excellent defender in left field excellent base runner he did have power could hit for average you'd run like get every skill imaginable this guy have to do anything he wanted to do on that baseball field if you want to get a hit he got to hit you want to make great catch you got a great catch Fox to the warning track of the wall leap to a great cat you knew that this was the best player in baseball and the Giants had laid out money to sign him green agreement will make Barry the best paid player in the game it's a lot of money but there's only one Barry Bonds grown up in the Bay Area and now was coming home for a record six-year nearly 44 million dollar contract to play in the same Outfield as father Bobby and Godfather Willie Mays had once roamed Willie is a center fielder my father played right field and I play left field so I completed that Family Circle I fulfilled my dream in those days the Giants were a have-not franchise and they signed very bonds it was a message to the fans that we're going to be respectable we're going to put a good team on the field and we're going to start with this guy's the Cornerstone and in San Francisco which is a real label Shoppers town that worked great because they want recognizable names and they want the sense that when they go to the ballpark they're going to the coolest place in town and the Giants in 93 were the coolest place in San Francisco in 1993 the reliable sounds of spring training were familiar even if change was afoot all across the game commissioner Faye Vincent was out and in his place Brewer's owner Bud selig was named chairman of the major league executive Council you'll have every ounce of energy in my body as we move the greatest game in the world along just a few months into his tenure sealid presided over the game's first expansion since 1977 as the Marlins and Rockies were introduced I remember the winner before watching the whole expansion draft and trying to figure out how that was all going to work and the task of everybody trying to figure out which is how good are these teams going to be are they going to win any games what's the talent going to be on these teams it was the first election in the first round the Colorado Rockies have chosen from Atlanta right-handed pitcher David need when you wear two teams the the one thing you're going to weaken yourself in more than anything is your pitching staff all around the league because now you're trying to fill 20 to 22 or more spots in the big league level and what you do there is you either get veterans who don't belong out there or young kids who are just not ready to perform me the Rockies were a mix of young and old with the biggest name the big cat veteran first baseman Andres galaraga signed as a free agent [Music] oh he's a PT peer he's a prime time player hi Mom in the Marlins first Camp one of the toughest tasks was simply putting names with faces we called it the name tag spring training when we first got there because we were basically I guess you'd say cast offs from other organizations spring training yeah I love it it took a while to kind of get our own identity but at the same time it's exciting to go into South Florida that had never had baseball before and be part of something new something new that would begin with a pitch from The Game's oldest player when a 45 year old knuckleballer brought his career full circle on opening day Charlie Hub he is a Marvel he was raised about 15 minutes from the stadium in Hialeah Florida and now here it comes the first pitch history here in Miami thank you and Away in Miami Miami a moment later the knuckle baller finished off his first batter in trademark fashion so let it be duly noted it's the first pitch ever here was a strike and the first batter struck out two days later when the Rockies opened at home their first batter Eric Young showed what was to come in the mile high altitude [Applause] and a 3-2 pitch ER meanwhile in San Francisco Barry Bonds made a promising Splash in his Candlestick debut Ed with bonds anchoring the lineup the Giants had aspirations of a championship something certainly familiar to the Toronto Blue Jays [Applause] and as 93 began there was a looming since the World Series would again go through Toronto [Music] all the experts in spring training of 1993 picked us to finish last [Applause] [Music] and that's the ball game we went into Houston we ended up sweeping that series that was one of the things to me that said you know we have it we have a chance here being pretty good all of a sudden you knew something special was in the works that team had a special feeling about it and even more than that it had pitching behind Curt Schilling's complete Game shutout on April 11th the Phillies took sole possession of first place in the NL East it was a lead they would never relinquish thanks in part to the emergence of Shilling strikeout goes the distance it wasn't just him you see what Tommy green would be you could see what Danny Jackson was going to mean to that team pitching was just really our strength that year and very consistent all five starters went out and had a career gets his sixth complete game he wants our pitching picked up then the fans just got into it they sensed what we sensed we have a chance now of getting into postseason that they're starting to believe by mid-may the Phillies had pulled far ahead in the NL East with a team of body Misfits apparently intent on shattering the image of the polished modern day athlete crazy bunch here in Philadelphia they're having a great time it was like your local uh neighborhood softball team John kruck looks like the type of guy that went to a fantasy camp and stayed you've got the sense that they'd gone to bed at five in the morning and then showed up at the park at nine with a beer still on him yeah the Phillies were kind of the uh and I say this with the utmost affection kind of the dirt bags of baseball right here look at the all over that hat they basically came out of mud holes they always looked like they'd already played nine before they took the field there's a scraggly looking group isn't it they Pride themselves on that but you wouldn't want any of us dating your daughters but if a run needed to be driven in or someone needed to get on base to ignite an inning I would take that team over any that I've seen in a while the 27 Yankees had Murderers Row this group unapologetically dubbed themselves Macho wrong Macho Ro mullets Dalton Mitch Hollins Truckee same kind of hair there were exceptions some people couldn't have that kind of hair oh yeah that's what I need we didn't usually let pictures in that area because we didn't like them take it down check out but we let Mitch Williams in there because it really wasn't really a pitcher we fixed it John Wild Thing Williams was the Philly's unpredictable closer just as likely to walk the bases loaded as he was to strike the side out always an adventure when it comes to the game [Applause] here it's our bolt-in coach right here he's got all our equipment I made that 93 tonight with so much the personalities the fans and the players they levitated towards each other characters that are on this ball club they're winning and tonight the Phillies played with a big lead in the NL East the White Sox played with a big herd in the AL West Frank Thomas the most feared hitter in the White Sox lineup he had tremendous plate discipline rarely swung at a at a pitch that was out of the strike zone and I had power to oilfield that awesome power LED some to even take pity on a ball I used to say you know he hurt that ball he hurt that ball [Applause] and one day he hit a home run there in Chicago today's going around first base and I'm watching him and all of a sudden I said and that's where it started 93 he really came into his own to be able to do it all but Thomas's domination wasn't unassisted as Robin Ventura provided protection for him in the lineup forget it robin goes deep giving the Southsiders a fearsome one-two power punch Batman ROM thing I was more of a tag along back-to-back Shots by Thomas Gerald I got the hit behind amazing hitter it probably gave me a lot of opportunities with the bases loaded with ample offense Die Young Canada Jack McDowell's pitching the Sox took first place in May meanwhile in the East the defending champs were bolstered by a new offensive Force as first baseman John olomood was hitting everything in sight John olerude had as good a hitting season as anybody that I ever witnessed I never saw a hitter have a balanced swing and a balanced approach almost every event in July Ola Road was still hitting over 400 as seriously as anyone had flirted with Ted Williams 406 Mark in years we have a youngster by the name of Michael Piazza this guy has got power he can get an outstanding arm he could become a marquee player Mike is just so strong [Music] Piazza showed the tremendous power in the first half of 93 there was no bigger breakout star than Mike Piazza the son of a childhood friend of Tommy Lasorda drafted by their team the story went as a favor it wasn't drafted as a favor I wanted him drafted I got five of my friends who were connected with baseball to go out and see and play and five of them call me back and said he can't do anything so that's when I decided we'll draft him how'd you like to get a guy Bob in the 60-second round where that kid's too old as a rookie he seemed to be very polished and he certainly thrust himself into the conversation of the up-and-coming great players Piazza would set several rookie records for a catcher 29 by a rookie rookie our game in Baltimore Mike Piazza it was a midsummer classic set to showcase the new Camden Yards but once the game started the spotlight shined on an amusing mismatch All-Star games are supposed to be a lot of fun for the players for the media for the fans for John crook I guess that the 93 All-Star game was a lot of fun Randy Johnson's on the mound and he throws one of those 185 mile an hour fastballs past watch the reaction of John crap when I stepped in the Box I said all I want to do is make contact would you say is I palpitating a bit and after first page that's all I want to do is live flame John one bit he wants no part of Randy Johnson and I live so I had a good at bat John had no chance people had been telling him he had no chance of baseball success his entire life but Jim had it with only one hand defied the odds and became a big league pitcher for everything to fall in place for him that day it was a great moment for Jimmy and just a great guy tremendous competitor and on a late Summer Afternoon in 93 he put an exclamation point on his storybook career Indians have not had a man past first base [Music] [Applause] he did it he did it ever the memories of afterwards you know seeing the fans jump up and down you know it's nice to be any part of that and to you know for it to be a no-hitter that you threw it's it's a great honor rabbit's gym came just before the no-hit king finally rested his arm I wanted to announce that this is going to be my final season in 27 years on the mound he'd struck out more batters than anyone in baseball history Nolan Ryan is an icon in America without question he was bigger than life [Applause] be able to throw as hard as he did for as many years as he did is just mind-boggling 5700 strikeouts plus that's just a six stat in my opinion also hanging up his spikes in 1993 George Brett if you talk about the Kansas City Royals George Brett name is going to come up through passion and hitting he'd become a Royals Legend [Applause] George Brett is one of the best hitters in baseball history as two future Hall of Famers exited the diamond change a different sword versus store we had gone from 16 teams to 20 to 24 to 26 to 28 and so we needed to create a situation where we had additional teams in the playoffs the owners voted to realign divisions and expand the postseason the following year and his September approached it became apparent 1993 would be the last minute race of its kind it wouldn't disappoint in 1993 the NL West was the setting for what would be the last great race of the four division era anchored by Barry Bonds the Giants had a balanced attack on both sides of the ball and had led the division for most of the Season go ahead of the dynamite team I think I had four Golden Glove guys on that team Matt Williams Robbie Thompson Barry Kurt man wearing which we call money man he was going to tag you out the plate hold on to the ball [Music] [Applause] most of the elements you need to be a really really good team and by June it looked like they were going to be that and the rest of the league was going to just be waving at them the Giants were a dominant thing and had amassed about a nine I think nine nine and a half game lead on us I remember going to the all-star game I believe in Baltimore and and seeing Barry Bonds and he said we're finally going to knock you off and I said well it's still a long season you know we still got time to catch in and just a few days after the All-Star break the pitching Rich Braves boosted their offense by acquiring power hitting first baseman Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres and I'll never forget the first game he played in the old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium the stadium caught on fire and I'll never forget this we're down on the field watching this Blaze the Press Box was burning up Ted Turner comes down on the field stancaster we're all standing around and Ted said we're going to play this game he said the stadium caught on fire and the Braves are going to catch on fire and he was so right Standing Ovation for Fred McGrath McGriff I joined a team in the middle of the year and the first night I hit a home run which made it a lot easier for me after that [Music] until the wall is Jordan [Applause] head to Atlanta forever mcgriffs and back was immediate as the Braves won 27 of their first 35 games with the cry on the dog in the lineup they won series after series after series every day as a new Fred McGriff home run highlight goes deep this time he sends Gilkey back to the wall three home runs in less than 24 hours McGriff would hit 19 second half home runs overall helping the Braves make up 10 games on the Giants by mid-september Atlanta had edged ahead and was trying to hold on the final weeks of the season the whole month of September every night one of us was taking the field knowing that the other team had already won and you better take care of business tonight or you're going to fall behind tied for first on The Season's final day the Braves earned their 104th win and the Braves head to the clubhouse where the TVs are just warming up while in L.A needing a win to force a playoff Giants manager Dusty Baker picked Solomon Torres a 21 year old rookie with only seven career starts for game 162. as it turned out Torres was not prepared for that stage at all was nervous the night before and the Hopeless once he got on the mountain the game blew up instantaneously they're off and offer Manhattan the Dodgers lead 3-0 clobber Torres and then the San Francisco bullpen in a 12-1 route that ended the giant season nothing but disbelief the dominant emotions right there they had won 103 games but the Giants were going home while the Braves were headed to the playoffs for a third straight year and to have to win 104 games to win our division I mean that's what it took because the Giants were that strong [Applause] Donald said I'd rather be in Philadelphia and that's where we're going on Tuesday that's my man yes Philadelphia hadn't made the postseason in a decade but trolled the NL East for the entire season pork ball pitch to Clark rounded down the first base side Fair ball crook feels it underhands covered by Paul the game is over [Applause] the White Sox had dominated the West in 93 riding the power bat of MVP Frank Thomas [Music] [Applause] and the power arm of Psy young winner Jack McDowell those White Sox [Applause] and in Toronto the Blue Jays John Oliver with Paul Molitor and Robbie Alamar became the first teammates ever to finish one two three in a batting race leading Toronto to another division title [Applause] [Music] shot to become the first team since the 1978 Yankees to repeat his Champs for a final time the 1993 playoffs would have just four teams in this case a compelling mix of perennial powerhouses and unpredictable upstarts tonight baseball's postseason returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 10 years as the Phillies host the Atlanta Braves in game one of the National League Championship Series Atlanta was heavily favored the Braves had it all [Applause] you know the history of what they had but you know we had something that they didn't and that was the the fact that we weren't intimidated by him we weren't afraid of their pitching the Phils also had a formidable picture of their own in game one starter Kurt Schilling it she Struck it up he strikes out five batters in a row set the stage for the whole thing Schilling left after eight with a 3-2 lead leaving it to his Bullpen and defense to finish off the win swaying ground ball to third it might be two why throw my bad piece the right field it's safe all around Kim Batiste Sarah allowed the Braves to tie it up but in the 10th with a winning run on second he had a chance to redeem himself swing a hard ground ball base head base head down the left scores Bills win his face has gone wild meanwhile in the Yale the world champion Blue Jays had arrived in Chicago with their sights set on a repeat going in against Toronto in the early 90s was playing against an All-Star team you felt like you had to have a perfect game to beat him blue jay lineup had one two three in batting with Ola rude Paul Molitor and Robbie Allenmore the Blue Jays the best hitting team in the American League but White Sox boast the best pitching the White Sox put together a very young pitching staff when he talked about people like Jack McDowell Alex Fernandez Jason Beret they were good right out of the box but in game one McDowell proved no match for the Blue Jays bats and Toronto banged out 17 hits in the win game two was a pitching matchup of young and old 24 year old Alex Fernandez battling season playoff veteran Dave Stewart a Stewart who was a big part of that team that year who didn't have the stuff he had in the years he pitched with Oakland but they had a big heart and went out and did a great job for us basketball goes down swing swinging behind Stewart the Jays got the win and headed home up two to nothing but the Sox remain confident we went to Toronto going up there expecting to win and in games three and four Chicago delivered that message with its bats it was a a tough tough lineup and at the heart of that lineup was one of baseball's best hitters Frank Thomas is a Hall of Famer and you know we knew we had a tough road to go there in his first 16 played appearances in the series Toronto walked Thomas eight times but with the Sox trailing by one in the sixth inning at game four the Big Hurt finally got a pitch to drive that one hit a mile in left center field and the American League Championship Series is tied at two back in the NL the Braves had pounded the Phillies in games two and three to take a 2-1 lead in Atlanta we still felt that uh you know we could overcome that and can get it done no matter how far they got behind they thought they were going to win and the Phils used pitching and defense defense of edge John Smoltz in game four of the middle right [Music] and two wins a piece that night in Chicago a Blue Jays win put the White Sox on the verge of elimination heading into game six tonight's starting pitchers Dave Stewart he has been the most successful pitcher in American League championships here he's history and Dorado had acquired the 36-year-old Stewart or games just like this got him swinging 2-7 plus inning Stewart held the Sox to just two runs and four hits for him to come in and do what he did was the difference of us going to the World Series going back to try and become the first team in 15 years to repeat as world champions [Music] determined [Music] in Gate five in Atlanta Kurt Schilling was masterful once more hurling 8 shutout Innings he's struck him out before yielding the Mitch Williams in the ninth with a three-run lead though he had saved 43 games during the season Williams was an unpredictable force on the mound and this outing would prove no difference if you watch the games on television you might remember Shilling sitting on the bench with a towel pulled over his face he just couldn't bear to watch chopped up the middle Here Comes McGriff with the time run Williams got out of the ninth with a score tied at three and then the man they called Nails got him off the hook in the tent well hit Nixon at the wall home run Letty Dykstra his home run that was a Mr October moment and three games to two lead and they'll take that Advantage back to Philadelphia in game six the Phillies knocked around Cy Young winner Greg Maddox to take a 6-3 lead late in the game center field Justice on the run and looking up Collins has a Homer now once again the question was could the Wild Thing hold it the payoff pitch he's struck him out and the Philadelphia Phillies have won the national league pennant I'm still trying to figure out how did that team win it that team had no business winning but that kind of summed up the 93 Phillies they just kept finding away [Applause] it was no surprise the defending Champion Toronto Blue Jays were hosting the first two games of the 1993 World Series but no one expected the upstart Phillies to crash the party well it was dubbed the uh the briefcase Blue Jays against the scruffy tough guy Phillies so much talk to these two teams I remember doing the series I was asked to have a camcorder and I obliged them and seriously too just having fun overall just really taking it in talking about the Phillies now they look so wild they have long hair don't shave wear dirty uniforms and keep spinning they look like truck drivers nobody believed we were as good as we were except us and the guys in that Clubhouse that's that's what matters the most and it would be team Catalyst Lenny Dykstra who got things started for the Phillies in game one against Blue Jay pitcher Juan Guzman Ball Four he kind of gave us a Swagger he loved stealing bases he loved the Limelight he loved when all the focus of the team was on him is running with the pitch which is a ball Porter's thrall gets by Alamar so Lenny Dykstra has the first stolen base of the World Series the Phillies would score two in the first giving their Ace the early lead Kurt Schilling on the mound but the NLC has MVP quickly gave it back and the Phillies and blue jays are tied at two [Music] the game was tied at four through five but in the sixth the Phillies had an opportunity to open up the game it was a pivotal part of the game where it easily could have been blown open [Music] after loading the bases in relief of Guzman the part-time videographer was looking to get out of a big time Jam the 3-2 pitch of the bases loaded two outs all the runners the off with the lighter delivery the runner is gone you find moments within any Series where you know you try to hang your hat on the importance of that particular pitch and that was a big moment it shifted the momentum to the Blue Jays who quickly took advantage of the opportunity [Music] [Applause] gives the Blue Jays their first lead of the night it's 5-4 Toronto and the Blue Jays didn't look back piling on more runs on route to an 8-5 Victory and a one to nothing serious lead in game two ALCS MVP Dave Stewart looked to keep the Phils at Bay instead Macho Roe exploded in the third capped by a blast from an unheralded power source well the quiet quiet Heroes on that ball club and people don't talk about very much is Eisen Reich he had some key hits for that ball Club all the right well hit Carter sprinting back it's over his head and over the fence a three-run homer for Jim eisenrich and the Phillies lead five to nothing from there the focus turned to Philly pitching's ability to hold the Jays in check and in the ninth the lead was six to four with the unpredictable Mitch Williams on the mound [Music] Williams on to make his first appearance in the World Series and the man they called Wild Thing lived up to his nickname [Music] [Applause] and that brings the tying run to the play for Toronto retired the next batter and then got a perfectly placed ground ball a double play ball [Music] and the World Series Mitch Williams picks up the save with the usual player for the dramatic in the night if you step outside opening night at Veterans Stadium for game three shifted to Philadelphia Blue Jays manager ceto Gaston made a controversial decision sitting John Olerud the AL batting champion for Paul Molitor wouldn't take long for monitor to silence the second guesses sinking fast and right center and in for a hit if it scoots past Eisen right to the wall Henderson is in Devon white is in and Molitor has a triple then in the third monitor delivered another Block in Cavalia watches it go home run all monitor so playing first base agrees with monitor the three-nothing lead was plenty for 19-game winner Pat Hinton he's struck and the blue jay bats stayed hot all night long in a 10-3 Victory giving Toronto a 2-1 series Edge [Applause] what I remember about game four was it was just a slug Fest and the Blue Jays for the second straight night of taking a three-nothing lead in the first we'd score three and they'd come back and score four and it was just back and forth until Philadelphia opened up the game in the fifth with two run homers from Dalton and Dykstra way out of here the Phillies lead 12-7 and Philly would take a commanding 14-9 lead into the eighth you know I remember looking up at the scoreboard digging the seventh or eight things and I thought to myself you know what we're going to win this thing and then all of a sudden it was you know I think we let our guard down a little bit we forgot just how powerful that the Blue Jays really were offensively two run score game four was one of the craziest games I've ever played in no matter what happened the ball found a way to fall in Toronto would get six runs in the eighth off the Philly Bullpen and go ahead to stay 15 14. and the Toronto Blue Jays have won the high the high scoring game in postseason history to take a three games to one lead into the World Series that was that was [Music] we thought it was over but we knew we just lost a great opportunity to really swing the momentum in our favor [Music] the Phillies crushing defeat in game four of the 93 World Series left them trailing three to one and lacking in confidence and momentum factors the Blue Jays were hoping would propel them to a second straight title after a team loses a game like a 15-14 game you wonder how are they going to pick themselves up and just get through another game I felt pretty confident last night when it was 14-9 but I obviously that didn't hold up I think what's going through the Phillies players Minds now is that Kurt Schilling has to pitch a good ball game so we can get the confidence back the answer was simple in game five Kurt Schilling was going to take the baseball and he was not going to let go in baseball he would eventually have one of the great postseason pitching careers in history and on this night the Phil's Ace came out fire [Music] [Applause] [Music] struck him out talk about a guy that was out on a mission he really knew how good he was at that time and how good he could be chilling who has shown tremendous grit and determination to try to cut his way through the eighth inning great Denning we came in The Dugout he was spent Anthony I don't believe her chilling would ever ask out of a game but when asked the question for a manager can you give us one more the answer wasn't a absolute direct yes you know I got this and then a couple of us looked at him he said you remember what happened to our Bullpen last night you better finish this you know what there is no action in the bulk [Applause] in this series back to Toronto line of the center Phillies win you think about telling yourself I'm going to go throw a shutout and I'm going to go out the ninthian World Series and it's going to be 62 000 people that's like make believe a brilliant five hit shutout for Kurt Schilling while Shillings performance pumped some momentum back into the Phillies the Blue Jays were still just one win away from a title what would the feeling be like to clinch a world championship in Toronto I don't know what what that film would be like but uh tell you what I'm very anxious to find out right now we're going home with that with that opportunity in mind we're looking very forward to it Theory shifted north of the Border go chase go Jesus in the first inning of game six the Jays jumped out to a quick knee swing and a base hit in the center field here comes all the road up with a Dykstra fires it into second base and the Blue Jays lead three to nothing [Applause] on the mound Dave Stewart was intent on keeping Philly's dangerous bats silent to the Sky Dome I felt that if I went out and kept their bats quiet and got deep into the game that we'd have an opportunity to win and that's exactly what happened Billy's running out of time they're batting in the seventh down five to one but then like so many times in 93 the Philly offense sprung the life Kellen Stocker at third Mickey mourindini at first [Music] [Applause] Phillies are right back in this ball game it's five to four and the seventh when Dykstra hit a three run home run they said we're going to win this whole thing we are going to win this whole thing because I thought the momentum had really changed Toronto Bullpen for two more runs in the seventh grabbing a one-run lead Philadelphia has taken a six to five lead here in the seventh inning which would remain the score into the ninth when when Mitch Williams was summoned once again from the bullpen Roger Mason had thrown the eighth inning gotten through the eighth inning and I got called to come in on the ninth Jim frigosi will give the ball s William to try to get the final three outs and Force the game seven Mitch was a great competitor he wanted the ball when the game was on the line last time out laced all over Veterans Stadium and now at the sky dome the inning didn't start the way Williams wanted [Music] [Applause] [Music] we got on base you knew exactly what was about to happen Ricky Henderson was going to drive Mitch crazy [Applause] Force Mitch to focus so exclusively on him that he was going to forget that there was a hitter at home plate I get a base hit the center and you know I'll always remember being on first base and you know looking at John crook I said man isn't this awesome and he goes I don't think it's so awesome right about now the run that would win the World Series as it purged and Joe Carter is the batter Larry do remember hearing Joe say he was going to look for something that was on the inner part of Clayton down and he was going to drive and he got it two balls and two strikes [Applause] as soon as Joe hit the ball they knew it was gone I did a double take on it but I looked at it for the second time and saw the same thing I saw the first time and just started walking to the dugout the first thing that goes to my mind is make sure you touch all the bases [Music] dream of it you dream of it if you were actually Joe Carter doing it you dream of it as a fan [Music] then we're running out and then as players do you you start acting like a 12 year old in the backyard fans are going wild and I'm thinking why did I learn to do cartons when I was younger the Blue Jays have repeated This World Series champions I jumped on home plate and I just let it go and with everybody on top of me it was great take it out Blue Jays would be baseball's two-time defending champions for two full years thanks to the 94 strike while it would be 15 years until the Phillies returned to the fall classic [Music] baseball Philly got its World Championship with a group of players as compelling not quite as colorful as the team of 93. the wild card would forever change the Dynamics of pendant races in baseball wildcard world champions would include the expansion Marlins in 97. World Series the angels in 2002 and the Red Sox in 2004. [Music] that team was led by a familiar postseason hero Kurt Shelley the greatest Red Sox team ever [Applause] post season there would still be plenty of October drama in the years to come drama that's taken its place in baseball lore alongside the magical finish of 93 the night when Joe Carter touched them all to win it all foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause]