TORONTO — Sitting on a couch in the visiting clubhouse after Game 5, Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins offered George Springer words of inspiration.

“You’ve got a Kirk Gibson moment coming,” Popkins said. “You’re a legend. It’s your time.”

It was the kind of thing someone might say to a friend in need of encouragement, not expecting the message to resonate or even be taken as realistic.

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Last Friday night in Seattle, with his right knee throbbing, Springer was in no position to act on Popkins’ vision. It was fantasy to think that just three days later, he would electrify a ballpark, a city and a country with a home run that was a little bit Gibson, a little bit Joe Carter and every bit heart and soul.

All Springer did with his three-run, go-ahead shot in the seventh inning Monday night was lift his team to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, bringing the World Series to Toronto for the first time in 32 years.

Springer’s resurgence in the regular season was difficult enough to believe considering he was 35, coming off two straight years of decline. But his resilience after getting hit in the kneecap by a 96-mph Bryan Woo fastball added an even more stunning chapter to his baseball saga, one that now includes 23 postseason home runs, tied for third all-time.

Springer left Game 5 in excruciating pain. He needed help getting down the dugout steps, and then the steps into the clubhouse. The next day was a travel day in the series.