Ranking Blue Jays Top 5 Post-Season Home Runs

Carter’s “touch-em-all” moment in '93 WS remains No. 1

The Blue Jays over the course of their 49 seasons in the American League, have played 78 post-season games heading towards this 2025 World Series matchup against the defending champion Dodgers. The Jays have won 38 of the 78 playoff contests, several thanks to drasmatic, clutch moments thatr will live forever in the memory of Blue Jays Nation. Following is one man’s list of the Top 5 Jays home runs in post-season play. Consideration in this fun exercise went to game circumstance, historical series significance, iconic longevity and the high drama of the moment.

1-Joe Carter vs. LH Mitch Williams (Phillies) … 1993 World Series Game 6

It’s impossible to look beyond Joe Carter’s walk-off blast in the ninth inning, Game 6, of the Blue Jays second straight World Series win back in 1993. Even the call by Tom Cheek ranks No. 1 in Jays history, resting in its own category, at its own iconic level.

RECAP: The Phillies, attempting to tie the series up at three games apiece, had scored five runs in the seventh inning against Dave Stewart and Danny Cox, to take a 6-5 lead with nine outs to go for the Jays. In that Phillies seventh inning, Al Leiter had saved the day, entering with one out and the bases loaded and escaped with just a Pete Incaviglia sac-fly that gave the Brotherly Glovers a 6-5 lead.

In the ninth, Phils manager Jim Fregosi brought in closer, Mitch Williams, to preserve the one-run lead, but the erratic lefty walked Rickey Henderson to lead it off, a sign of bad things to come. After Devon White flied out, Paul Molitor singled, setting the stage for Carter. On a personal note, I was standing in the press box with Phils radio broadcaster Chris Wheeler, watching Williams struggle to a 2-2 count. Wheeler turned and said, “Can we borrow (Expos closer) John Wetteland for an inning?” It was the next moment, Mitch delivered his pitch and Carter delivered with a line drive over the fence in left field. Joe never hit a bigger homer in his life.

2-Jose Bautista vs. RH Sam Dyson (Rangers) … 2015 AL Division Series Game 5

There has never been a single inning of playoff baseball that has featured more twists and turns, more swings of emotion, more tangled webs within a stadium or across a country than the seventh inning of the 2015 ALDS between the Jays and the Rangers. The stadium literally shook when the Joey Bats blast landed in the left field stands and as he flipped his bat high in the air towards the first-base dugout in defiant, dramatic fashion that sparked bench-clearing anger from the Rangers, led to debate across baseball and now to the age of the creative bat flip. But back then it was far from an acceptable celebration among old-school baseball lifers. Get over it.

Recall the top of the seventh in a 2-2 game, with two outs and Rougned Odor as the go-ahead run on third base. Catcher Russell Martin lobbed a throw back to Aaron Sanchez, all this while Shin-Soo Choo was performing his between-pitches ritual that involved remaining in the box, holding his bat at a 90-degree angle as he gauged and prepared for the next offering. The Martin throw hit Choo’s bat and deflected towards third, where Josh Donaldson was in no position to make a play (nor should he have been). Odor alertly raced home with the go-ahead run as umpires huddled to discuss what the hell had just happened. Despite the fact the umpire had called time when the balkl was rolling to third and Odor had not yet scored, it was the correct call.

Trailing 3-2 now into the bottom of the seventh, watching from the press box, now working on a third game lede, I suggested confidently to seatmate Rosie DiManno of The Star, “Don’t worry, the baseball gods will not let this game be decided on that play.” Then the Jays inning began and the gods sprung to action.

With Cole Hamels on the mound, shoving like he does, Elvis Andrus booted a Martin groundball, followed on the next play with an errant throw to second for an attempted forceout by first-baseman Mitch Moreland. Dalton Pompey ran for Kevin Pillar. Adrian Beltre fielded a Ryan Goins bunt and threw to third in time for the force … but, unblievably, Andrus dropped the throw to load the bases.

Then came a fielder’s choice at home, with a sliding Pompey trying to hook the leg of catcher Chris Gimenez to break up a potential double play. The Rangers argued interference to no avail. Enter righty Sam Dyson.

Still trailing 3-2, with the infield in, Josh Donaldson swung and lobbed a parabolic linedrive over Odor, who recovered in time to force Goins at second. Goins hesitated to make sure it dropped in. But on that weird play, the tying run scored for the Jays. Enter history. To the plate with two outs in a tie game, strode Bautista. On a 1-1 count Joey Bats launched a blast that shook the baseball world as the sporting gods looked down and smiled. It remains a legendary moment.

3-George Springer vs. RH Eduard Bazardo (M’s) … 2025 AL Championship Series

Game 7 had been hand-wringingly frustrating for Blue Jays fans through 6-1/2 innings. Shane Bieber was okay in his second series start, but allowed seven hits and a pair of runs in 3.1 innings. The uptick turning point for the M’s had been the third inning, with Julio Rodriguez leading off the frame. Bieber’s 1-2 pitch seemed to be just off the outside corner of the onscreen box, however with what looked like a clear swing. It was called no-swing by Doug Eddings. Then a chopper over the bag at third was fielded by Ernie Clement who slung an accurate throw to Vlad, but the ball was ruled foul by umpire Alfonso Marquez, even though such a call was a geometrical impossibility given where it landed three inches foul and 10 feet past the base. J-Rod took advantage of a second and third chance, driving a home run to left-centre for a 2-1 lead.

It was then that the baseball gods, rolled over, shook themselves alert to the situation and said, “This is not the way this game will be decided.” Trailing 3-1 into the seventh, M’s reliever Bryan Woo walked Addison Barger and allowed a two-strike single up the middle to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. After a sac-bunt by Andres Gimenez moved the tying run to second base, M’s manager Dan Wilson made his move, bringing in one of his two talented setup men, Eduard Bazardo, to face Springer.

There was a base open and, by the way, where was Andres Munoz, the 102-mph throwing closer with the game on the line and eight outs to go? This was his spot. Springer had been 0-for-6 with a pair of walks since being hit on the knee by a pitch in Game 5. Every swing and miss seemed to bring him to his knees. But on a 1-0 pitch, he swung and lifted a three-run blast to left-centre that gave the Jays a lead to which they clung through two more innings. The Jays were going to the World Series for the first time in 32 years, as the baseball gods looked down and smiled.

4-Robbie Alomar vs. RH Dennis Eckersley (A’s) … 1992 AL Championship Series

It was Game 4 of the ALCS in Oakland and the Blue Jays had yet to break through as a franchise and win a post-season series at a time when it only took one such success to reach the World Series. They were frustrated as an organization, ready for the spotlight. Down 6-4 to the A’s in the ninth inning, the Jays were facing the game’s best closer, future Hall-of-Famer Dennis Eckersley. A Game 4 loss would have tied the series 2-2, with one more in Oakland before going back to Toronto for Games 6-7. The A’s had the experience, going to three of the previous four Fall Classics.

Devon White led off with a single to left and raced around to third on a misplay. Still, with a two-run lead, Eck was not really worried about Devo. But Alomar worked the count to 2-2 and fouled another pitch off before launching a deep flyball to right that cleared the fence to tie the game up. At that moment, Alomar threw both arms into the air in celebration and former Jays president Paul Beeston claims that was his personal choice for most important moment of many in those World Series years.

Tied at six, the game went to extra innings with Duane Ward and Tom Henke taking care of business and working overtime. Alomar was not done. In the bottom of the ninth, with A’s on first and third, Alomar threw home to Pat Borders, retiring Eric Fox at the plate on what would have been the winning run. Borders delivered with a sac-fly in the 11th and Henke did the rest. The A’s then won Game 5 to take it back to SkyDome but back home the Jays ended it in six.

5-Edwin Encarnacion vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (O’s) … 2016 AL Wildcard Game

This was the one-game wildcard at Rogers Centre featuring the Where’s Waldo moment involving manager Buck Showalter and his disappeared-in-the-moment closer, Zack Britton. The WC winner would move on to face the Indians and the game remained tied 2-2 from the fifth inning through to the 11^th.

After Ezequiel Carrera struck out to lead off the 11th, Ubaldo Jimenez entered to face the top of the Jays order. Where was Britton? Devon Travis singled. Josh Donaldson singled. Then on the first pitch from Ubaldo, Edwin took a trip around the bases with his parrot, winning 5-2 on a walkoff blast, leaving MGR Showalter to answer questions about why the best closer in the AL was still sitting out in the pen waiting for a non-existent save situation.

6-Ed Sprague vs. Jeff Reardon (Braves) … 1992 World Series

Even though this is a Top 5 post-season homer list, we can’t ignore Sprague’s dramatic pinch-hit blast off Jeff Reardon in the ninth inning of WS Game 2 in Atlanta. The young backup catcher/corner infielder was hitting for Duane Ward and jumped on the first pitch from Reardon. The blast sent the series back to Toronto tied 1-1, instead of trailing 2-1. The Jays won three of the next four, with Reardon not even making an appearance in 11 innings of Game 6 as the trophy came north of the border.