Carter’s blast scores Molitor with Jays’ championship run

Paul Molitor’s feet gave the Toronto Blue Jays the title.

Carter became the second player to hit a walk-off, World Series-winning home run when he went deep in the bottom of the ninth of Game 6 of the 1993 Fall Classic.

Scoring ahead of Carter was Rickey Henderson – who drew a walk from the Phillies’ Mitch Williams to lead off the inning – and Molitor, who singled Henderson to second base with one out.

Carter’s three-run home run on Oct. 23, 1993, turned a 6-5 Phillies lead into an 8-6 Blue Jays victory, wrapping up Toronto’s second straight championship.

For Molitor, it was the culmination of a six-game series that saw him hit .500 (12-for-24) with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, eight RBI, three walks and no strikeouts.

Sometimes lost in Carter’s heroics is the fact that Molitor was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

“This team spread out the successes, and you can go out and relax and not try to do more than you’re capable of,” Molitor told the Associated Press prior to the World Series.

“It makes it easier for everybody.”

The 37-year-old Molitor hit a career-high 22 home runs for Toronto in 1993, driving in 111 runs while scoring 121 and leading all of baseball with 211 hits.

He finished second in the American League Most Valuable Player voting following the season.

“I always had respect for him,” said Blue Jays teammate Roberto Alomar, who would one day join Molitor in Cooperstown.

“He’s 37, but he still does things like he’s 25.”

Alomar finished third in the AL batting race in 1993, behind Molitor and Blue Jays first baseman John Olerud, who won the title with a .363 average.

It was the first time since the 1893 Phillies that a team placed three batters in the top three of a league’s batting rankings. Each of those three Phillies – Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson and Ed Delahanty – were eventually elected to the Hall of Fame.

“Just being on a club with a guy like Molitor certainly helps a lot of other players,” said Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. “He leads by example. He’s just a quiet person who goes out and does his job.”

Molitor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004, with Henderson following in 2009 and Alomar in 2011.