NewsChampion Jays reunite, catch up
World Series winners from 1992-93 to be honored on Friday
By Erika Gilbert / MLB.com
08/06/09 4:42 PM ET
TORONTO -- While current and former Blue Jays players stood and chatted with fellow golfers as a day on the course was about to begin, former closer Tom Henke held up his sparkling 1992 World Series ring so his new golf partners could get a closer look."Sometimes when you're at home and you're away from it, it almost seems like it never happened," Henke said. "So you've got to look at your ring and say, 'Hey, yeah, I was part of that.'"
For Henke, once again feeling like a part of the Blue Jays is what this weekend is all about.
Over the past few days, more than 35 players and coaches from the 1992 and '93 World Series champion Blue Jays have made their way back to Toronto for the Back2Back Reunion Weekend celebrating the club's two titles. The event kicked off on Thursday with a charity golf tournament at RattleSnake Point Golf Club to benefit the Jays Care Foundation.
"This whole weekend is going to be special," Henke, who was nicknamed "The Terminator" for his ability to close games, said Thursday morning. "It's already special. Yesterday night, we sat in the booth up at the game, and a bunch of the guys came in and it seemed like yesterday. '92 seemed like yesterday."
The reunion was organized by 1993 World Series hero Joe Carter, whose walk-off home run in Game 6 of the Series clinched the title for the Jays and inspired the most famous quote in club history -- "Touch 'em all, Joe. You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life," spoken by the late radio broadcaster Tom Cheek as Carter rounded the bases. Carter, as well as former All-Stars such as Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor and Devon White, will be in town all weekend to celebrate the two championships.
"I think it's just a nice feeling to be a part of this group -- to be a part of the World Series team," former first baseman John Olerud said. "Definitely a lot of pride."
When retired players are asked what they miss most about the game, camaraderie with teammates is often high on the list. For Olerud, Henke and the rest of the 1992-93 Blue Jays, the reunion offers a chance to catch up with old friends.
"That's what I'm most looking forward to -- just getting to see everybody again," Henke said. "Not only the players, but a lot of the support personnel that's back -- trainers, guys that you've got close to you. So it's fun."
When the day-to-day circumstances of people's lives change after baseball, it can be hard to stay in contact with old teammates, according to Olerud, the 1993 American League batting champion.
"I would say a lot of times, Christmas cards are the best way to keep in touch, but then, a lot of times guys move, they change locations and so you lose contact," Olerud said. "That's been one of those things -- I haven't done a great job of keeping in touch with guys, so that's what's made it a lot of fun being here and coming back is just seeing guys and seeing where they're at, what's new, catching up.
"We've been super busy with the kids and stuff back in Bellevue, [Wash.,] so [the reunion] was something that I was interested in doing for sure."
It's a sentiment that Henke echoed.
"You get involved with your own life" after baseball, Henke said. "You have kids, and it's just hard keeping track of everybody because you're all in different parts of the country. It's just tough. This is a big step in getting everybody back together and just getting to see each other, even if it is for only three or four days. It's just nice to see everybody."
Players from the 1992 and '93 Blue Jays will be on hand all weekend, signing autographs before Friday and Saturday's games at various locations around Rogers Centre.
The alumni will be honored on the field shortly before Friday's tilt with the Orioles in what's sure to be a memorable moment for players and fans alike.
"It's going to be very emotional, but it's going to be also very pleasing and joyful -- all the good things," Cito Gaston, who managed the team from 1989-97 and was rehired last June, said of Friday's ceremony.
"It's going to be great. It's going to be, probably, feelings you can't really put your finger on, and I'm pretty sure for those guys, it's going to be the same way.
"I'm glad they finally did it."
For Henke, capturing Toronto's attention the way the Blue Jays once did -- when the seventh-inning stretch song "OK Blue Jays" could be heard over PA systems in Toronto schools following "O Canada" during the playoffs -- would be an added bonus.
"I hope we have a great crowd," Henke said. "Coming up and watching the crowds here dwindle from 55,000 every game when we were here. ... Hopefully, this will help bring some of the fans back."
Erika Gilbert is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
