It has been 33 years since the biggest hit in Toronto Blue Jays history and now it will be immortalized outside Rogers Centre.
The team announced on Monday that it will be unveiling a statue this season to commemorate Joe Carter’s walk-off World Series-winning home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993.
“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,” Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said in a release. “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.”
The long-overdue honour is part of the team’s celebration of its 50th season and will be unveiled during a pregame ceremony on Saturday, July 18, with alumni from the two championship teams.
The statue of Carter will be on display outside of Rogers Centre between Gates 5 and 6.
“My teammates from ’92 and ’93 are a special group, and we all understood what it meant to play for an entire country. 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,” Carter said.
How did the team announce the statue?
The team shared a video on social media of Shapiro and Paul Beeston breaking the news to Carter, who became emotional when hearing about the honour.
Carter’s home run off Mitch Williams is not just one of the most memorable in Blue Jays history, but in all of baseball. It remains one of just two World Series-winning walkoff home runs and clinched a second straight championship for Toronto.
The broadcast call made by long-time voice of the Blue Jays Tom Cheek remains a part of team lore.
“A swing and a belt, left field, way back, Blue Jays win it … Touch ‘em all Joe, you’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life,” Cheek said as Carter joyously rounded the bases while leaping in celebration before touching home plate.
With the addition of the World Series tribute, the company has decided that the statue of Ted Rogers that is currently in front of the stadium will moving to a corporate office.
“We wanted to make space to honour Joe and the championship teams who brought so much joy and pride to fans in every corner of Canada,” Rogers spokesman Zac Carreiro said in a statement. “We look forward to recognizing and celebrating more moments and players over time.”
More giveaways coming
The Blue Jays are celebrating their 50th season throughout 2026 with several events and promotions planned to honour the team’s history.
The team also announced that the first 15,000 fans on July 18 will receive a set of ’92 and ’93 World Series replica rings and that on Aug. 10, there will be a back-to-back replica statue giveaway.
Commemorative patch to be worn
The team previously revealed that this coming season players will wear a commemorative patch to help celebrate the club’s 50th season as an MLB franchise.
The team made the announcement last month, showing off all of the intricate details that went into the special patch’s design.
“The colour palette includes vintage turquoise, royal blue and modern red, representing shades from the club’s past and present, connecting old to new, while the gold outline symbolizes the significant 50th milestone,” the team said in a release.
The logo on the patch is the original 1977 bird head, including the original vintage maple leaf and baseball background – which also helps represent the zero in 50.
The five is written in the club’s “original split font,” which has been used on several occasions during the team’s five-decade history.