News

"So, the Beast is back," came the comment from Pat Gillick, the senior vice-president and general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The "Beast" Gillick was referring to is Paul Beeston, his old running mate in Toronto when Gillick was the Blue Jays general manager and Beeston was the American League club's president.

The pair combined to lead Toronto to back-to-back World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.

Gillick, now 71, is back in the Fall Classic with the Phillies, the team the Blue Jays beat for that last title.

But, as his unsolicited question about Beeston here on Tuesday night during a World Series banquet indicates, he remains interested in the goings-on in Toronto.

Beeston is back at the helm in Toronto, being appointed earlier this month as the Blue Jays' interim chief executive officer, whose primary responsibility is to help find a new president and CEO to succeed Paul Godfrey, who is stepping down at the end of the calendar year.

Naturally, the name of Gillick — who announced he is leaving the Phillies after their World Series encounter with the Tampa Bay Rays — has cropped up repeatedly as a prime candidate for the Toronto job.

Although Gillick has said he is not sure what he is going to do after he leaves the Phillies organization, he does not think the Toronto job is in the cards for him — although he has admitted he has been in contact with Beeston.

Gillick has sold his home in Toronto but still maintains a residence in Prince Edward Island. His off-season home is in Seattle.

Beeston has said he has no idea what's in store for Gillick after this season, but said he would be shocked if it did not involve baseball.

The future can wait, however. Gillick's focus right now is squarely on the Phillies, the team that has been waiting 15 years for its opportunity to exorcise the demons of Joe Carter's climactic ninth-inning home run, which gave the Blue Jays the 1993 World Series.

It was a wallop Gillick thought would never get over the fence at Rogers Centre, then known as SkyDome.

"I was sitting with one of our scouts, Moose Johnson, in one of the luxury suites," said Gillick, the Blue Jays' GM at the time. "I've always told people that I never thought Joe's ball was going to make it over the wall. I thought it would hit the top. Moose did, too.

"We just kind of looked at each other and didn't say anything for a few seconds. I think it was me who said: 'It's over.'"

Should the Phillies win what would be just the second championship in their 116-year history, Gillick admits it will not hold the same meaning as the back-to-back titles he orchestrated with the Blue Jays, the team he joined in 1976.

"You have to remember, I was there … before we were ready to contend," said Gillick. "I put in nine or 10 years … so there were a lot more of what I would call hoops and building than there was here."

The Philadelphia-Toronto connections do not end with Gillick.

His right-hand man in Philadelphia is Gordon Lackey, the Phillies director of major-league scouting.

In 1993, Lackey was Toronto's chief pro scout. The manager was Cito Gaston, who was rehired by the Jays in June after being fired at the end of the 1997 season by then-GM Gord Ash.

The Philadelphia manager in 1993 was Jim Fregosi, who managed the Blue Jays for two years after Gaston's replacement, Tim Johnson, was fired just before the 1999 season.

"It's kind of funny how Toronto wound up hiring Fregosi, the Philadelphia manager that I beat in the '93 Series," Gaston said. "In baseball, it always seems to connect one way or another. Things seem to go in circles."

In the 1993 series, the Jays were trailing 6-5 heading into the ninth inning of Game 6. Rickey Henderson provided some hope for Toronto when he worked Philadelphia closer Mitch Williams for a leadoff walk.

"I do remember … that when the inning started, I said to Moose, 'You watch. If Rickey Henderson gets on base, he's going to score,'" Gillick said.

After Devon White flew out, Paul Molitor singled to centre field, moving Henderson to second to set the table for Carter, whose memorable drive sent him skipping joyously around the bases as the Blue Jays celebrated their 8-6 triumph and their second consecutive World Series win.

While the home run is etched in Blue Jay lore as the defining moment in franchise history, many will point to Game 4 of the series, in which Toronto scored six times in the eighth inning to win a wild 15-14 decision.

"Carter's home run has almost diminished the other things the franchise had accomplished," said Howie Starkman, who was the team's director of media relations at the time. "I mean, we were the first team in Canada to win the championship in 1992, but the only thing people ever talk about is Carter's hit."

The 15-14 victory, which remains the highest-scoring game in World Series history, gave the Blue Jays a 3-1 series lead.

"That was a crazy game, but it sort of set the tone for the rest of the series," Gaston said. "Even though Curt Schilling came out the next night and pitched Philadelphia to a 2-0 victory, our guys were still happy for the chance to head back home to try to win it in front of our home crowd."