One of the greatest moments in Toronto Blue Jays history will be immortalized outside Rogers Centre.
A statue of Joe Carter’s historic walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series will be erected outside Toronto’s downtown ballpark. The Major League Baseball club made the announcement Monday morning in a series of social media posts.
The statue will represent the first World Series won on Canadian soil and is also symbolic of the team that won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.
“My teammates from ’92 and ’93 are a special group, and we all understood what it meant to play for an entire country,” Carter said in a release. “We felt such pride wearing the Maple Leaf on our uniforms.
“Fans embraced us, and we loved them right back. This statue is for the fans.”
The back-to-back World Series statue will be located outside Rogers Centre between Gates 5 and 6. A statue of Edward Rogers Sr. currently in that area will be moved to a Rogers Communications office.
It will be unveiled on July 18 in a special pre-game ceremony with alumni honouring the two championship teams. The first 15,000 fans in attendance will receive a set of ’92 and ’93 World Series replica rings. There will also be a back-to-back replica statue giveaway to the first 15,000 fans that attend the game on Aug. 10.
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“The Blue Jays have a rich and storied history in the fabric of Canadian sport, and the back-to-back World Series championships will forever have a special place in the hearts and minds of sports fans across the country,” said Shapiro.
“As we embark on our 50th season, this statue is emblematic of baseball greatness in Canada and will be shared with fans for generations to come.”
In the social media videos, the 65-year-old Carter is led into what he thinks is a business meeting with Shapiro and president emeritus Paul Beeston.
Instead, the two executives surprise Carter with the news that a statue will be made of his home run.
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