TORONTO — In many ways, Addison Barger is a typical 25-year-old. Earlier this week, he showed up to work wearing a free T-shirt he got four years ago, then slept on his buddy's pullout couch that night.
But on Friday, Barger also hit the first grand slam in World Series history, leading the Toronto Blue Jays past the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4. That gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship.
The shirt Barger wore at Thursday's media day said “I hit the ball hard,” and he got it while playing singles for the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla., and Vancouver.
“That was what the hitting coaches were giving out when I was in the minor leagues, I think in 2021,” Barger said at the postgame press conference. “So it was a free shirt. I liked the shirt.
Barger added with a laugh, “Yeah, the goal is to hit the ball hard, so I'll take it.”
Barger struck out Davis Schneider – the buddy whose couch he slept on the night before – in the sixth inning.
Lefty Barger smoked an 84.5 mph slider from Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda to 413 feet, scoring Nathan Lukes, Andres Jimenez and George Springer and giving the Blue Jays a 9-2 lead. The explosion gave Toronto a 99.4 percent chance of winning the game, with a sold-out Rogers Center crowd of 44,353.
Schneider explained that Barger crashed with him because Barger's family was staying at his apartment to watch his World Series debut.
“My girlfriend is here and he's like, 'Can I sleep in bed with you guys?' and I was like, 'No, sleep on the couch,'” Schneider told reporters in the Blue Jays clubhouse after the game. “It's a pull-out sofa and it squeaked all night.
“I looked over and saw him sleeping there in the middle of the night. He's crazy, but he's funny.”
When it comes to free T-shirts, Barger still has his own standards.
FOX MLB analyst David Ortiz, a Baseball Hall of Famer who spent most of his playing career with the Boston Red Sox, gave Barger a T-shirt after the game with a photo of Ortiz and the words “MY DAWG” at the bottom.
Barger was gracious when it was given to him, but left it on the Fox broadcast desk.
“It's wearing Red Sox, I'm not wearing it. Are you kidding me?” Barger laughed. “I don’t wear our division team jersey.
“No way. It's amazing, but no.”
This season was Barger's breakout year: he played 135 games for the Blue Jays, but 12 for their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, New York. He finished the MLB regular season with a .243 batting average, 21 home runs and 74 runs scored.
Barger is hitting .324 with three home runs and eight RBIs in Toronto's run to the World Series.
“I'm trying to put together good batsmen, left-handed and right-handed,” he said. “Usually it’s definitely more difficult for lefties.
“Just trying to put together good batsmen, no matter who's on the mound.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider admitted Friday that sometimes Barger doesn't even know who Toronto is playing the next day.
“He makes everything simple,” John Schneider said. “I think he communicates great with our hitting coaches. At this point in the season, whether you're starting or not, there's a pretty specific approach and plan for what you're trying to do. For a young guy to go out there and hit a shot is a different thing.
“Eddie has played a big role for us this year and I hope he doesn't know who's going to pitch tomorrow.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.
