CANADIAN HEROES, AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPS
The Jays began their fifth ALCS on October 5th at Comiskey Park, ready to face off in the best-of-seven duel against the Chicago White Sox. Steep competition, the White Sox had finished the season with a record of 94-68 (PCT .580).
The Jays threw their ace pitcher Juan Guzmán against the White Sox’ own Jack McDowell. The first three innings went scoreless, but then the White Sox seized a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Jays then mustered a two-run homer in the seventh inning which won them the match 7-3.
Game 2 saw Dave Stewart face off against the White Sox’ Alex Fernandez. The teams came out of the first inning evenly scored 1-1, and the tie remained in place until the top of the fourth, when the Jays made two single runs by Tony Fernández and Pat Borders. With no further points on either side, the Jays won the match 3-1.
A commemorative mini-pennant from 1994 which celebrates the Jays’ victories in the ALCS in both 1992 and 1993.
The next three games took place at home in Toronto, but the home field advantage made no appearance in Games 3 and 4. In Game 3, Toronto’s Pat Hentgen squared off against Chicago’s Wilson Álvarez. The first points were awarded when the White Sox achieved a five-run third in the top of the third inning, followed by a single run by the Jays in the bottom half. Hentgen was replaced by Danny Cox in the fourth inning after making two successive base hits, but this was not enough to rally the Jays, and the White Sox still managed another run. They beat out Toronto 6-1.
In Game 4, Todd Stottlemyer was sent to the mound against Chicago’s Jason Bere. The White Sox took the lead 2-0 in the second inning, but the Jays outpaced them by one point in the bottom of the third. Alomar’s performance in the bottom of the sixth managed one more run for the Jays, but they were ultimately defeated 7-4 by the White Sox.
The Jays finally took a home turf victory in Game 5, with Guzmán once more coming up against McDowell. A throwing error by McDowell allowed Herderson to round home plate and for the Jays to take the lead by one point. Toronto then made single runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Chicago managed a home run in the fifth, followed by Toronto in the seventh. Two more points to the White Sox in the ninth were not enough to save the team, giving the match to the Jays 5-3.
A foam finger-shaped pennant celebrating the Toronto Blue Jays as the back-to-back winners of the ALCS for 1992-1993.
The Championship concluded back at Comiskey Park with the Jays leading the series 3-2. Once more, it was Fernández versus Stewart on the pitching mound. Toronto was the first to score a point when Borders batted a two-run single in the top of the second. The White Sox tied up the score in the next inning, but the Jays regained their lead when Molitor reached on an error, then rounded home on a fielder’s choice in the fourth. No more points were to be had until the ninth inning, when White made a home run and Molitor batted a two-run triple. The White Sox tagged Ward for a solo homer in the final inning, but when the dust settled, the Jays won the match 6-3, and with it the entire American League Championship Series!
It had been a tense six games, but it was only the prelude to what the Toronto Blue Jays had really been fighting for: the World Series.
