Although there are only a few hours left before the start of the second game of the World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays, there are still comments and debates about the first game, in which the Canadian franchise was victorious with a crushing score of 11-4.
Decisive in the victory was the nine-run rally they put together in the sixth inning, with two crucial home runs by Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk. These hits sent the Rogers Centre into a frenzy and made the ground shake in Toronto, where such a victory had not been celebrated since Joe Carter’s iconic home run that ended the 1993 Fall Classic.
Like that connection, Barger and Kirk’s home runs also have historical value, and not just because they put Toronto on the path to their third crown. Both hitters inscribed their names in the record books with milestones never seen before in World Series
Barger, power explosion
In the history of the Fall Classic, 68 players had come to bat as pinch hitters with the bases loaded. The first to find himself in this situation was Duke Farrell (Boston) way back in 1903 and his at-bat ended with a sacrifice fly against Pittsburgh.
After that, another 67 men came out of the dugout and paraded to the plate with the bases loaded in World Series, but none had managed to hit a home run, until Addison Barger appeared on Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
With great composure, as if he were not in a high-tension game, the left-handed hitter unleashed an explosion of power against left-handed reliever Anthony Banda, who was punished with a 413-foot drive that came off the bat at 106.2 mph.
In doing so, Barger became the first rookie with a grand slam in World Series history. In addition, he will always be remembered as the first Blue Jays hitter with a bases-loaded home run in the Fall Classic.
“I didn’t even feel my legs. It was like I fainted,” said Barger, one of the heroes in Toronto’s first win over the Dodgers.
Mexican spice on the table
And if we talk about firsts, it is impossible to ignore another home run, this time by Alejandro Kirk. The sensational catcher, who serves as the unofficial captain of the Blue Jays, put the final sentence with a 403-foot home run to center field that put the score at 11-2.
This might have been just another home run in World Series history, except for the fact that it became the first by a Mexican player in these instances. In more than 70 appearances by different Mexican players from Bobby Avila in 1954 to date, none had managed to hit the ball beyond the limits.
Kirk broke the curse and hit what could be the first of several home runs in the Fall Classic, given his great form.
This count of Mexicans does not include Randy Arozarena, because although he represents the Mexican baseball team in international events, he was born in Cuba and all official records consider him as Cuban.
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