A Canadian baseball legend is being immortalized

By Stephen Weir

Former Blue Jays legend Joe Carter will be standing tall again — this time in bronze — when he returns to the SkyDome on July 29.

Don’t worry, his playing days are over. Carter will be just standing… permanently.

Recently, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that the club has commissioned a Joe Carter statue, which will be unveiled on the 29th.

Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro and President Emeritus Paul Beeston shared the news with Carter. The statue depicts Carter’s iconic 1993 walk-off home run, the first World Series clinched on Canadian soil, while also symbolizing the back-to-back championships and paying tribute to both the 1992 and 1993 teams.

“The Blue Jays have a rich and storied history in the fabric of Canadian sport, and the back-to-back World Series championships will forever have a special place in the hearts and minds of sports fans across the country,” Shapiro said last month. “As we embark on our 50th season, this statue is emblematic of baseball greatness in Canada and will be shared with fans for generations to come.”

Carter told the Blue Jays’ website how pleased he was. “My teammates from ’92 and ’93 are a special group, and we all understood what it meant to play for an entire country. We felt such pride wearing the maple leaf on our uniforms. Fans embraced us, and we loved them right back. This statue is for the fans,” he said.

The back-to-back World Series statue will be located outside Rogers Centre, between Gates 5 and 6. It will be unveiled on Saturday, July 18, in a special pregame ceremony with alumni honouring the two championship teams.

As part of the Promotions & Events schedule, the first 15,000 fans on July 18 will receive a set of ’92 and ’93 World Series replica rings. On Monday, Aug. 10, there will also be a back-to-back replica statue giveaway for the first 15,000 fans. The full 2026 Promotions & Events schedule will be announced this week, beginning tomorrow, with the complete reveal on Thursday.

Of course, the unveiling comes right around the proposed Aug. 1 Toronto Caribbean Carnival Parade. Perhaps Joe Carter and the championship teams should have a float at the front of the parade!

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