TORONTO – Touch ‘em all, George: You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life.
Carrying echoes of Octobers past, George Springer launched a go-ahead, three-run homer to send the Blue Jays to their first World Series since 1993, delivering a 4-3 victory over the Mariners in Monday’s Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Limping slightly as he rounded the bases, Springer summoned shades of Kirk Gibson before channeling Joe Carter’s gleeful raised-fists skip around the bases. His blast off Eduard Bazardo’s seventh-inning sinker rocketed into the left-field seats, shaking Rogers Centre to its core and sparking a party that spilled into the streets.
“I’m just so happy for our team, our fans, our city, our country,” Springer said. “This is exactly why we love playing here; it’s unbelievably electric. We love every single one of these fans. This is such an unbelievable moment.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named ALCS MVP as the Blue Jays celebrated the franchise’s biggest win since Carter’s walk-off sealed the 1993 title. Toronto will now host the defending World Series champion Dodgers in the Fall Classic, which begins Friday.
“When you have a group of guys that genuinely play for one another, that’s a real thing,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “You can’t measure it, like you can’t measure clutch. But you can feel it. It’s easy to say, but when you look up and you’re one of the last two teams standing, it’s real.”
Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh homered for the Mariners, a fellow 1977 expansion entry who remain the only Major League team without a pennant.
“I hate to use the word failure, but it’s a failure,” said Raleigh, who shed tears in the visiting clubhouse. “What we expected was to get to the World Series and win a World Series.”
After a 90-win regular season and an unforgettable 15-inning Division Series clincher over Detroit, Seattle carried a 3-2 series lead back to Toronto but couldn’t finish the job.
“I know this stings,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, “and there’s no question it’s going to sting. It’s a special team in there. It’s a shame we had to come out on the wrong side of this one.”
Bazardo was relieving Bryan Woo, who permitted a walk, a hit and a sacrifice bunt to begin the frame. Woo, coincidentally, was the pitcher who hit Springer on the right kneecap with a 97 mph fastball in Game 5.
At the time, the Blue Jays feared a more serious injury; in not-so-gentle terms, Springer told Schneider there was no way he was sitting out.
“For George to come through the way he did, I’d like to say I’m surprised – but I’m not,” Shane Bieber said. “George is George. Man, he’s an incredible player.”
Springer’s resiliency mirrored the Jays’ season. After winning 94 games and the AL East, Toronto lost the first two ALCS games at home, only to take two of three in Seattle and force the series back to Canada.
Most of this current roster wasn’t even born when Carter cracked Mitch Williams’ pitch into history, prompting Tom Cheek’s famous call, “Touch ’em all, Joe! You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life!”
This generation will forever remember the night Springer gave Canada another October moment to treasure.
“I knew it was gone,” said Kevin Gausman. “There was a group of us inside and we went absolutely crazy. George is an unbelievable player. For him to do that, how banged up he is right now, that’s who he is. He’s just such a big-time player in a big-time spot. You’re not surprised by it, to be honest.”
The night began promisingly for Seattle. Leading off the game, Rodríguez doubled and later scored on Josh Naylor’s single. The inning ended on a bizarre double play when Naylor was struck by Ernie Clement’s throw while leaping in the baseline.
Toronto answered immediately, with Daulton Varsho stroking a George Kirby slider for a run-scoring single, though Kirby escaped when Clement lined out hard to center.
That seemed to be a turning point, as Kirby settled in, blanking the Jays over his next three innings. Making his fifth postseason start and first on the road, Kirby gave the towel-waving crowd – most of whom stood throughout all nine innings – little to cheer about.
Rodríguez hit a third-inning slider into the left-field seats off Bieber that restored Seattle’s lead, and Raleigh hit his fifth blast of the postseason in the fifth off Louis Varland, putting the Mariners up by two runs late.
“Offensively,” Wilson said, “we did the things we needed to do.”
But Springer delivered the swing that counted most. And that’s why this pennant – and this moment – belongs not just to Toronto, but to an entire nation.
“That’s my job,” Springer said. “I love this team. I’ll do anything for these guys. I’ll do anything to try to play. I love this place.”
