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Addison Barger's Pinch-Hit Grand Slam Was a World Series First

The 25-year-old set Rogers Centre alight.

Patrick Andres

No Blue Jay had a bigger hit Friday than Addison Barger.
No Blue Jay had a bigger hit Friday than Addison Barger. / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
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There have been 120 World Series before this one, and while those Series have included pinch-hit home runs (Kirk Gibson!) and grand slams (Freddie Freeman!), the Fall Classic had never seen a home run that met both criteria.

Until Friday.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Friday night, the Blue Jays' Addison Barger stepped to the plate to hit for left fielder Davis Schneider. On a 2-1 pitch from Emmett Sheehan, Barger parked an 84 mph slider over the center field fence to give Toronto a 9–2 lead over the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series.

Barger's swing was, remarkably, the first pinch-hit grand slam in the 122-year history of the competition. It served as the centerpiece of a nine-run inning that blew open a tie game.

The 25-year-old Bellevue, Wash., native owns 28 home runs in his two-year career. None has been a grand slam.

The postseason is a different animal, however, and on Friday Barger—a .286 hitter in the postseason entering Friday—gave Blue Jays fans a moment they'll never forget.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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