Forever linked by baseball history, Joe Carter and Mitch Williams now share a bond that goes beyond what occured between the white lines.
The two men at the centre of the dramatic conclusion to the 1993 World Series are in Toronto this week for the first time together since Carter homered off Williams in the bottom of the ninth of Game 6 to give the Blue Jays their second-consecutive World Series title.
What has brought them back together this week is Carter’s annual charity golf tournament in support of Children’s Aid Foundation and while it might have been easy for Williams to decline Carter’s invitation, the former Philadelphia Phillies closer insists he had no reservations about returning to a place that many assume has nothing but painful memories for him.
“People thought that (home run by Carter) was it for me, but it wasn’t,” the 47-year-old Williams said Monday at Rogers Centre. “Baseball is baseball. I didn’t take that loss any different than any other.”
Williams might not have, but the Phillies apparently did, trading him to the Houston Astros prior to the 1994 season. After posting a 7.65 ERA and 2.250 WHIP with the Astros in ’94, Williams moved on to California in 1995 and sat out all of 1996 due to an injury before making a failed comeback attempt with Kansas City in 1997.
Now working as a popular analyst for MLB Network, Williams said Carter reached out to him not long the Game 6 home run in 1993 and the two have been friends ever since.
“I haven’t seen a lot of him over the past 18 years, but we talk,” Williams said. “When there’s a business proposal, we talk about it and you try and help.”
In terms of star power, Carter’s tournament needed little assistance with the likes of Julius Erving, Ray Bourque, Ozzie Smith, Charles Barkley and Charlie Sheen in town to lend a hand. With a star-studded lineup like that the event was guaranteed to generate plenty of media attention with or without Williams’ presence.
Carter said he wanted Williams here so Toronto could see another side of the man who went by ‘Wild Thing’ long before Sheen assumed the mantle in Major League.
“I thought it would be a great gesture to bring him back here because he is a fun guy to have around, he really is,” said Carter. “Really since the home run we’ve been tied at the hip. Over the years I’ve seen him at MLB network, but I’ve alaways known what type of guy Mitch is. He’s a great guy and the great thing about baseball is not just the sport itself, but the people you meet.
“Lives are going to be crossed, paths are going to be crossed a lot. It just so happens we’re kind of intertwined now.”
Few may recall, but Game 6 of the 1993 was not the last time Williams’ stepped on a mound in Toronto.
On April 25, 1995 while a member of the California Angels, Williams came on in the eighth inning of a 6-5 game with his team ahead and runners on first and second with one out. He immediately surrendered a game-tying RBI single to Blue Jays catcher Lance Parrish and was subsequently credited with a blown save in a 7-6 Angels win in 10 innings.
His Toronto baseball experiences aside, Williams said he was happy to return to the city — and even looked forward to seeing some of its citizens who may not have been too kind to him during previous visits.
“I liked coming to Toronto and the fans were great,” Williams insists. “Clean city and good fans. They were always classy.”
