Toronto Blue Jays World Series hero Joe Carter sat down with the MLB Network crew on Tuesday morning to reflect upon the Jays trip to the World Series, his time throwing out the first pitch before Game 2 and much more.

In the interview, which lasted more than three minutes, Carter said that he was ready to "give up his crown" as the Jays World Series hero, adding that the Jays were "this close," to winning their first title since 1993. 

He also heaped praise upon both Bo Bichette and George Springer, who played hurt throughout the Fall Classic.

​"For ​that ​young ​man (Bichette) ​to ​play ​in ​that ​World ​Series. ​And ​the ​way ​he ​performed, ​him ​and ​George ​Springer. ​Those ​are ​old ​school ​guys. ​Because ​a ​lot ​of ​these ​young ​guys, ​they ​don't ​go ​back ​out ​there ​and ​play ​like ​we ​used to."

As Harold Reynolds immediately noted afterwards, Bichette's willingness to play through a left knee sprain was also special considering that he has free agency coming up this offseason. By playing, he risked future injury and poor performance, both of which could have limited his earning potential this winter.

Springer had an oblique issue that caused him to miss Games 4 and 5 of the World Series, but he was back in there for Games 6 and 7, going a combined 5-for-11 in those two contests.

About Joe Carter

A 16-year veteran, Carter spent seven years in Toronto, serving as a key member of both World Series teams (1992-93). His walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 series is one of the biggest hits in baseball history.

He had six postseason home runs for his career to go along with 20 RBIs. He was a .252 hitter in October and was also a five-time All-Star for his career. He also won two Silver Slugger Awards.

It seemed as if Carter was ready to cede the crown to Bichette with regards to postseason moments, as his three-run homer gave the Jays a 3-0 lead in Game 7 of the World Series, but Toronto ultimately wasn't able to hold it.

Up now

The baseball world will continue meetings this week in Las Vegas as part of the general manager's meetings. The winter meetings will take place in Orlando next month (Dec. 7-10). At that point, we may start to see some real big offseason deals come together.

The Blue Jays have already been connected to Bichette and Kyle Tucker on the free agent market.

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