By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Joe Carter noticed an old writer talking to Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson at the top of the escalator at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. And it went something like this:

Carter: “What are you doing? Telling everyone again how you were responsible for the game-winning homer?”

Henderson: “Look, the only reason you hit the home run, was because I was on second.”

Carter: “On second? You should have been on third. You led off with a walk, Devon White saw nine pitches, Paul Molitor saw three and I had a 2-2 count. You had all those pitches to steal third ... and you didn’t. Why not?”

Henderson: “If I’m not on second, Mitch Williams doesn’t use the slide step, because he was worried about me stealing third.”

And so it was on the 25th anniversary of Carter’s home run off Williams: Lots of jabs, with a side order of laughs and giggles, with clubhouse needling as it was 25 years ago. A good time was had by all.

At 11:39 pm, Oct. 23rd, 1993, Carter hit a walk-off home run of the Philadelphia Phillies closer to win the World Series for a second consecutive World Series for the Jays. The remarkable Holly Gentemann (Kingston, Ont. -- Canada’s first capital) of Alomar Sports was responsible for the logistics and bringing in the classes of 1992-93.

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A sell-out crowd: The Back2Back 25th Anniversary reunion dinner was a gala affair. Hall of Famers. Regulars. Bench players. Some people had not seen each other since the 1993 parade. There was a crowd of 600 which most tables having a celebrity.

Henderson came to Toronto after flying overseas to London to see his Oakland Raiders play the Seattle Seahawks. Henderson’s Raiders were edged 27-3 by the Seahawks at Wembley Stadium.

“Why on earth would you go that far to see your team get humiliated?” Carter asked. During the “I helped you on the home run, no you did not” debate, Henderson smiled and gave it back to Carter. But when Carter made fun of his team, the Hall of Famer Henderson looked hurt, like a fan having his buttons pushed.

“Why not come to Kansas City, see the Chiefs, a good team?” Kansas City resident Carter asked Henderson.

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August vs. October: In August the Blue Jays celebrated bringing back manager Cito Gaston, plus five coaches, 18 players and former boss Paul Beeston.

Coaches: Nick Leyva, John Sullivan, Larry Hisle, Gene Tenace and Galen Cisco.

Players: Rance Mulliniks, Candy Maldonado, Pat Tabler, Rob Butler (East York, Ont.), Tony Fernandez, Tom Henke, Duane Ward, Mike Timlin, Ed Sprague, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, Pat Hentgen, Juan Guzman, Todd Stottlemyre, Devon White, Pat Borders, John Olerud, Joe Carter and Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar, plus president Paul Beeston.

They were introduced on the field pregame and watched the game from a suite down the left field line.

In October, Cito Gaston was here along with coach Galen Cisco, 25 players from the championship years, three members of the alumni and roughly 20 former Jays front office employees.

Players: Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Derek Bell, Pat Borders, Rob Butler (East York, Ont.), Danny Cox, Rob Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.), Tony Fernandez, Alfredo Griffin, Kelly Gruber, Juan Guzman, Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, Pat Hentgen, Randy Knorr, Doug Linton, Candy Maldonado, Rance Mulliniks, Dick Schofield, Dave Stewart, Pat Tabler, Duane Ward and Devon White, alumni members ex-MVP George Bell, Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield; plus Hall of Famer Pat Gillick, Paul Beeston and assistant GM Gord Ash.

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Pre-July 30, 1993: Catcher Pat Borders was asked who was the most annoying player for him and the Blue Jays in those days?

“Rickey Henderson,” Borders said quickly. “Absolutely it was Rickey. Rickey was a pain in the ass to play against. He loved to stir up emotions, stir up controversy.”

Who can forget the 1989 American League Championship Series? Ernie Whitt was the Jays No. 1 catcher, but Borders was there too. Borders pinch hit in Game 4 for Whitt and singled off Rick Honeycutt to knock in Tony Fernandez cutting the A’s lead to 6-3.

All Rickey did was hit .400 (6-for-15) with a double, a triple, two homers and five RBIs.

All Rickey did was finish with a 1.000 OPS in the five-game series and the MVP honours for the ALCS.

All Rickey did was go 7-for-7 stealing bases including one in Game 2 in Oakland when he stopped at 88 feet, put his hands on his hands and looked at Todd Stottlemyre and Whitt. He laughed at the mention of it.

“Rickey played so he would antagonize the other team, I think he thought the more upset he got, the better he played,” said Pat Hentgen.

Dave Stewart was a teammate of Henderson’s with the Oakland A’s but he also faced Henderson when was wearing New York Yankee pinstripes.

“It always bothered me when he would get his lead, clean his cleats by lifting first one leg, paw the dirt, then the other,” said Stewart, referencing Henderson’s habit of resembling a sprinter getting ready to run the 100-yard dash.

And there was finger wagging and tugging at his shirt and his home run trot which was did not go as wide Dave Parker but Henderson probably had the second widest arc heading towards first.

Borders said of all the opposing hitters, Henderson was one of the toughest to come up with a game plan that worked.

“Rickey always came with an educated plan,” Borders said. “Rickey was like Manny Ramirez. People thought Manny was ill-informed, but he worked hard, he studied pitches, studied pitches. He had a plan.

“One day we struck out Manny looking. He walked away and said ‘OK you got me, but next time ...’ He got us next time.”

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July 31, 1993: There had been talk leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline that the Jays -- unable to pursue needed pitching -- had changed lanes and were going after offence in Henderson.

That Saturday afternoon the Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 thanks to a three-run eighth as Darnell Coles singled to centre, Willie Canate pinch ran and scored on a Randy Knorr triple. Turner Ward ran for Knorr and with two out Roberto Alomar and Paul Molitor hit back-to-back doubles.

The press box was half empty when the Jays told the writers hours after the game, that Jays general manager Pat Gillick and A’s GM Sandy Alderson had agreed to a trade. It was conditional on Henderson waving his no-trade clause. The deadline set by the Commissioner’s Office was midnight. Gillick set a deadline for 11:30 PM.

And with good reason, the Seattle Mariners emerged as GM Woody Woodward was ready to move another soon-to-be free agent ace lefty Randy Johnson for Jays Mike Timlin and Todd Stottlemyre.

As the night progressed towards midnight, the Jays ordered in food for the writers. Gillick and Alderson worked the phones. Alderson spoke to Henderson who wanted $2 million US to waive his no-trade.

“Somewhere that night Dave Stewart called me,” Henderson said. “I could have stayed with Oakland. Dave said how much he liked it in Toronto, how much I would enjoy it. And then he said ‘Come help us win a World Series.’”

The conversations finally reached a conclusion: Henderson would accept $50,000 to waive his no-trade. The problem was Henderson had to sign his contract -- waiving his no-trade -- and it had to be faxed to New York by midnight.

Henderson had doubled and scored twice as the A’s lost 8-3 to the Texas Rangers in a game that ended at 7:45 pm (EST). The A’s sent travelling secretary Mickey Morabito to see Henderson, visiting his mother who lived not far from Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Morabito arrived at the corner of Elwood and Hegenberger, not far from the old Hyatt where visiting teams stayed. Henderson’s mother still lives there.

Henderson signed under a street lamp, Moribito rushed to the Coliseum and showed Alderson the contract. Alderson called Gillick:

“We’ve got bad news.”

Henderson had signed the waiver, but he also added, “Rickey gets suite on the road.” The Jays were fine with that.

Around 11:30, the Jays sent former No. 1 pick Steve Karsay and minor league OF Jose Herrera to Oakland for Henderson. Due to 11 o’clock deadlines one newspaper’s headline read:

“Jays acquire Henderson?” while the other read “Rickey joins the Jays,” as the second paper held its presses before getting a yes or no on the deal. That’s how big a deal Rickey Henderson was around here.

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Making the switch: Growing up in Oakland, football was Henderson’s sport. Henderson said the move from football to baseball began with his Grade 9 teacher Mrs. Wilkinson.

“She would pay me a quarter every time I’d get a hit, score a run, or stole a base. After my 10 games, I had 30 hits, 25 runs scored, and 33 steals,” said Henderson. “Not bad dough.”

Henderson said in his Hall of Fame speech in Cooperstown coach “Hank Thomas tricked him into playing Babe Ruth ball coming to pick him up with a glazed donut and hot chocolate.”

In 1976, with the class-A Boise A’s, as a first-year pro, position players would go out for early hitting, pitchers would do early work on PFPs (pitchers fielding practice). Every day his manager Tom Trebelhorn took him out early to work on base running.

“He seldom let me hit, Trebelhorn helped me learn how to get a great jump,” Henderson said.

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Q and A: At the banquet Robbie Alomar was asked if Joe Carter’s home run was the biggest home run in franchise history.

“Let me say this, Joe Carter hit the most important homer in franchise history ... in 1993,” Alomar said. “I hit the most important homer in franchise history ... in 1992. John Olerud hit the most important homer in franchise history ... in 1991. Fred McGriff hit the most important homer in franchise history ... in 1990. Tony Fernandez hit the most important homer in franchise history ... in 1989 George Bell hit the most important homer in franchise history ... in 1988.”

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After July 31, 1993: “Rickey Henderson was,” said Pat Borders, “one of the best teammates I ever had.”