The night when the Angels, Blue Jays couldn't stop scoring

'Hidden Classics' spotlights wild game with 18 runs across final 3 innings

January 29th, 2025

In its video series "Hidden Classics," MLB is digging into its archives and dusting off big games you might have forgotten about from your favorite stars of yesteryear. Stay tuned to MLB.com/HiddenClassics and MLB's YouTube channel for more Hidden Classic games.

Ask fans of a certain age what they remember about the early '90s Blue Jays, and you'll probably get some common answers. Joe Carter's home run, obviously. wearing a batting helmet while manning first base. Maybe even 's brief but memorable Blue Jays cameo in 1993.

Some might recall the Blue Jays' thrilling 15-14 win over the Phillies in Game 4 of the '93 World Series -- still the highest-scoring game in Fall Classic history. Well, what if we told you Toronto played in a game that was arguably just as wild, only six months later?

This week's edition of "Hidden Classics" features a game that began as a rather pedestrian 6-3 lead for the then-California Angels over Toronto through the first seven innings on April 15, 1994 -- before it simply exploded into a good old-fashioned slugfest. The two teams combined to score a mere 18 runs across the game's final three innings, one of only 14 contests since 1974 to feature that much scoring across the last three frames.

You can watch it all unfold in the video player above or at MLB’s official YouTube account. And while you watch, keep an eye out for:

  • A 22-year-old Blue Jays rookie named , already displaying his immense power by belting his seventh homer in his 40th at-bat of the season
  • A big Angels pinch-hit appearance by (in his final big league season) with two outs and the tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth
  • A very entertaining blow-up from , complete with a funky backwards-hat look for the Toronto manager

And for previous editions of “Hidden Classics,” check out:

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Matt Kelly is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York.