Blue Jays: 5 biggest home runs in team history
Bautista's ALDS blast his most memorable in Toronto uniform
When you have the likes of George Bell, Carlos Delgado, Fred McGriff, Jose Bautista, Joe Carter and Edwin Encarnacion swinging for the fences at the hitter-friendly Exhibition Stadium, SkyDome and then the Rogers Centre, there are going to be some prodigious and memorable blasts from years past.
With Bautista's game-winning, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning of Wednesday night's American League Division Series finale against the visiting Texas Rangers fresh in the minds of the 49,742 in attendance and millions more across Canada, we've compiled the top five home runs in franchise history.
1. Joe Carter's walk-off 1993 homer
"Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life." If you don't remember those words from late Blue Jays radio voice Tom Cheek, you probably remember the Toronto outfielder's one-out home run off Philadelphia closer Mitch Williams over the left-field fence with Rickey Henderson on third base and Paul Molitor on first in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series.
It was only the second time the World Series had ended on a home run.
2. Roberto Alomar's 1992 blast off Eckersley
With two out, Devon White on third base and the Blue Jays trailing Oakland 6-4 in the top of the ninth inning, Roberto Alomar drilled a pitch from Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley, the reigning American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner, over the right-centre field fence to tie Game 4 of 1992 ALCS.
Toronto won 7-6 in 11 innings, took the series in six games and won the first of back-to-back World Series titles.
3. Ed Sprague's 1992 homer in Game 2
With one out in the top of the ninth inning at Atlanta, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston has Ed Sprague hit for setup man Duane Ward with Derek Bell on first base. Sprague wasted no time against Braves closer Jeff Reardon, belting a low fastball over the left-field fence to give Toronto a stunning 5-4 win in Game 2 of the 1992 World Series.
Without that hit, Sprague's first pinch-hit appearance of the season and only second homer, the Blue Jays might not have won the World Series.
4. Jose Bautista's 2015 ALDS Game 5 homer
In a wild, 53-minute seventh inning on Wednesday night that included two Elvis Andrus errors and another by Rangers teammate Mitch Moreland, Jose Bautista came to the plate in the bottom of the frame with the game tied 3-3 and runners on first and third and deposited a pitch from former Blue Jays relief pitcher Sam Dyson over the fence in left-centre, measured at 442 feet, to send a crowd of 49,000-plus into a frenzy.
5. Bautista's 50th home run of 2010 season
Some in the small crowd of 12,590 at Rogers Centre had yet to settle in their seats when Jose Bautista settled in the batter's box against Seattle ace pitcher Felix Hernandez. On a 2-1 pitch, he launched a high drive that barely cleared the fence in left field.
Bautista became the first Blue Jay to hit 50 homers, having already broken Bell's mark of 47, and the first to the half-century mark since Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder in 2007. Bautista finished the season with a major league-best 54 long balls.