Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider already had his team rolling when he called Addison Barger to pinch hit. Barger stole the show with a historic grand slam to blow open a 5-2 World Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
He became the first pinch-hitter to achieve such a feat in a World Series, which far exceeded Schneider’s expectations when he made the call during the sixth inning of Game 1.
“I’m trying to force a lefty there. It’s one out. You know, you trust Barge to have a good approach to hopefully hit a sac fly,” Schneider told reporters afterward. “And Barge, man, he didn’t budge. He was ready to go and hit a mistake pitch.”
“So that was a little bit more than what we could have hoped for,” Schneider added.
Because Barger delivered more than expected, the Blue Jays enjoyed a seven-run cushion and won handily at home over the defending World Series champion Dodgers.
### Addison Barger Details His Experience of the Grand Slam
Barger expressed how surreal the moment was for him when he drove home Andres Gimenez, Nathan Lukes, and George Springer for a 9-2 lead. The Blue Jays had a 2-2 tie with the Dodgers going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
“To be honest with you, I don’t even remember,” Barger told FOX afterward. “It was so hard to just kind of gather my thoughts and everything. Just a blackout moment. Just crazy.”
“Honestly, I was choking up a little bit, just trying to put the ball in the air and get a run in that situation,” Barger added. “I know it’s a tough at bat, left on left, but the goal was just put the barrel on the ball, hopefully hit it in the air, and get the run in.”
Barger filled in for Davis Schneider for that at-bat after not getting a start.
John Schneider expressed how unique the moment of Barger’s grand slam truly was afterward.
“I was just talking to Max [Scherzer]. He’s been through everything in baseball and said he’d never really felt anything like that.”
Scherzer, 41, is in his 18th MLB season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has won two World Series in four appearances.
### Addison Barger is a Rising Star For Blue Jays
Barger has been a rising star with the Blue Jays since 2024, and that has included a solid postseason before Friday. He homered twice in the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners after a promising regular season.
Barger batted .243 for 21 homers and 74 RBI in 135 games. His first MLB season, 2024, consisted of .197 batting for seven homers and 28 RBI.
Toronto drafted Barger in 2018, and he played in the minor leagues from 2018 to 2023. The Blue Jays liked his progress enough in 2022 to keep him from the Rule 5 draft.
In minor league play, Barger hit .260 with 69 home runs and 291 RBI in 445 career games.
Barger was born in Bellevue, Washington, and he played high school baseball at C. Leon King in Tampa, Florida. He went straight to the minors after the Blue Jays drafted him.
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