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Nov. 11, 1999
Hentgen traded to the St. Louis Cardinals nest!!!
In another strange move that the Blue Jays brass will eventually come to regret, in what only be described as
a salary dumping, the Toronto Blue Jays put an end to the endless rumours and have traded pitchers Pat Hentgen
and Paul Spoljaric to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for left-handed reliever Lance Painter, catcher
Alberto Castillo and minor-league pitcher Matt DeWitt.
Hentgen, who will earn $6.6 million US in the 2000 season, was 11-12 with a 4.79 earned-run average in 1999,
ranking him third highest among Toronto's starters. In his 34 starts, Hentgen tossed 199 innings, allowing
225 hits while walking 65 and striking out 118.
We can only assume that the Jays' brass felt that Pat's best days were behind him and that Hentgen didn't have
any more 15+ win season's left in him. Like all of us fans, the Cards' brass feel different. With a full
off season and spring training to get ready it's a certainy that Pat will terrorize the National League's
batters and be among the league's top pitchers.
Toronto Star 11/12/99: Fregosi had my bags packed early in season, Hentgen says
Toronto Star 11/12/99: Farewell to arms
Toronto Star 11/12/99: Jays dump Hentgen, save $5 million
Toronto Star 11/12/99: The decline and fall of the Blue Jays empire
Toronto Sun 11/12/99: A class act is dismissed
Toronto Sun 11/12/99: Next start: St. Louis
Toronto Sun 11/12/99: Hentgen deal adds to dismay
Associated Press 11/12/99: For the birds: Hentgen goes to Cardinals
Detroit Free Press 11/12/99: Cards beat Tigers to Jays' Hentgen
St. Louis Post Dispatch 11/11/99: Jocketty fills pitching void with former Cy Young winner
What Pat had to say ...
mp3 (145Kb)
What Pat had to say ...
mp3 (637Kb)
"We are extremely pleased to have acquired a pitcher with the credentials and demeanor that Pat Hentgen
possesses, He's a tough, fiery competitor who has established himself as a proven winner and a real
workhorse when it comes to pitching."
- Cardinals Vice President/General Manager Walt Jocketty
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"I was a 17-year-old punk when I came to the organization and they taught me how to play, I have three
all-star rings and two World Series rings. I felt really fortunate to have played in Toronto."
- Cardinals new pitcher Pat Hentgen
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Who got the best deal in the trade?
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Some insightful comments and observations by a couple of the Toronto Sun newspaper sports writers, concerning
Pat himself and the trade. Let's just say it's things that make you say Hmmmmm… I think that Steve Simmons sums
it all up for us Hentgen fans in his Last Word column!
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Blue Jays have broken the fans' trust ... People don't care about the economic troubles of Jays president
Gord Ash and the Blue Jays. But they care about their team. They care about how they feel and what they
feel. And a trust has been broken. A trust that cannot be repaired.
- STEVE SIMMONS - The Last Word / November 14, 1999
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AND ANOTHER THING: Hentgen was one of the strongest, most decent and proudest athletes to play in
Toronto. Money didn't change him. Winning didn't change him. Losing didn't change him. His expectations
for himself always were higher than the expectations anyone else had for him. You don't replace a
Pat Hentgen. You don't replace what he brought to the game and the city and the Blue Jays.
You just can't ...
- STEVE SIMMONS - The Last Word / November 14, 1999
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Pat Hentgen is no longer a Blue Jay because Jim Fregosi still is with the team.
"Obviously, being the manager ... his decision weighs heavily," said Hentgen, after his 14-year
relationship with the organization came to an end yesterday.
Hentgen refused to say whether there were problems between Fregosi and his players.
But he didn't deny it, either.
Sometimes what people don't say is more interesting than what they do say.
- BILL LANKHOF - Between the Lines / November 12, 1999
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To St. Louis
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Hentgen, who turns 31 this Saturday (Nov. 13, 1999), posted a winning record in five of his seven seasons as a
starter for the Blue Jays, including a 20-10 mark during the 1996 season in which he was voted the American
League Cy Young Award winner.
Hentgen, who ranks fourth on the Blue Jays' all-time list for career wins (105) and strikeouts (995), is a
three-time American League All-Star (1993, 1994 & 1997). The 6-2, 195-pound righthander has averaged 214
innings pitched since becoming a regular member of Toronto's starting rotation in 1993, the same season they
went on to defeat Philadelphia in the World Series.
During the 1999 season, Hentgen finished with an 11-12 won-loss record and a 4.79 ERA in a
team-leading 34 starts. He has started 30 or more games four of the last five seasons and has completed a total
of 31 starts over his career.
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Spoljaric, 29, began the 1999 season with Philadelphia, where he was 0-3 in five games (three starts)
before being traded to the Blue Jays on May 5 in a deal for pitcher Robert Person. He fashioned a 2-2 mark and
a 4.65 ERA in 37 games (two starts) for Toronto, striking out 63 in 62 innings pitched.
The 6-3, 210-pound lefthander, a native of British Columbia, Canada, owns a career mark of 8-17, 5.48
ERA in five major league seasons with Toronto, Seattle and Philadelphia. He began his career with the Blue Jays
in 1994, appearing in just two games, and spent two-plus seasons with the Jays before being traded to the
Mariners on July 31, 1997, helping to solidify Seattle's bullpen down the stretch. Spoljaric was again traded in
November 1998, this time from Seattle to Philadelphia, before returning to the Blue Jays this past May.
Over his career, the hard-throwing lefty has totaled 272 strikeouts in 267.2 innings pitched. He's pitched in
over 40 games each of the past three seasons, and accumulated over 70 innings in each of those seasons, as well.
For his career, Spoljaric has limited opposing batters to a .237 average while pitching in relief. He had a
3.23 ERA in relief this past season and a .232 opponent's BA, striking out 61 batters in 55.2 innings pitched.
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To Toronto
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PAINTER, 32, appeared in 56 games for St. Louis in 1999 with four starts and was 4-5 with a save and a 4.83 ERA.
The 6-1, 197lb. left-hand pitcher has a career record of 22-16 in 227 games, 26 starts with an ERA of 5.22 over
seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies (1993-1996) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1997- 1999). PAINTER, born in
Bedford, England, is signed through the 2000 season with a club option for 2001.
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CASTILLO, 29, hit .263 in 93 games with eight doubles, four home runs and 31 RBI. The 6-0, 185lb. right-hand
hitting catcher has a career average of .236 with six home runs and 45 RBI in 185 games for the New York Mets
(1995-1998) and St. Louis Cardinals (1999). CASTILLO, a native of the Dominican Republic who now resides in Port
St. Lucie, FL, threw out 44%(27-62) of would be base-stealers last season.
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DeWITT, 25, spent the 1999 season with Arkansas of the Texas League (AA)where he was 9-8 in 26 starts with a
4.43 ERA. The 6-3, 210lb native of San Bernadino, CA was selected by St. Louis in the 10th round of the 1995
June Draft.
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Fregosi had my bags packed early in season, Hentgen says
But righthander admits: `I owe the Blue Jays alot'
By Geoff Baker - Toronto Star Sports Reporter, November 12, 1999.
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Few people on the planet knew with more certainty than Pat Hentgen that his Blue Jays days were over.
He'd had several months before yesterday's trade to get used to the idea of leaving Toronto after it became
apparent that new manager Jim Fregosi was not his biggest fan.
"I know that Jim has his own view on things and obviously I wasn't part of it," Hentgen said. "Those things
happen and, like I said, life goes on. Obviously, Jim felt I wasn't in the plans for the year 2000 and that's
as simple as I can put it."
Hentgen likely would not have made it back for a 15th season in Toronto's organization even if he and Fregosi
had been close. A $6.5 million (U.S.) contract for next season was more than the Jays could absorb for a
pitcher with a 23-23 record the past two years.
Team president and general manager Gord Ash inadvertently tipped off reporters yesterday about just how
foregone a conclusion Hentgen's trade was.
Ash said the $5 million less in salary the team will pay to the three incoming St. Louis Cardinals players
was not an actual saving that could be added to any contract offers to Carlos Delgado.
That would suggest the team had already budgeted for Hentgen's departure some time ago.
Even the way Fregosi took the ball from him when bringing in a relief pitcher suggested to Hentgen he was
already gone.
"Obviously, 14 years is a long time to be with one organization," Hentgen said. "I was a 17-year-old punk
walking in there. But they taught me how to play the game and I owe the Blue Jays organization a lot.
"It was just a great, great time there. Three all-star rings and two Word Series rings in eight years there.
So, I just feel real fortunate in my time spent there."
Not to mention his 1996 Cy Young Award in a 20-win season that saw him lead the American League with 265 innings
pitched.
Hentgen gave all he had when out on the field. Some people around baseball insist Hentgen gave too much and
has little left.
On a rainy September morning in Boston, Hentgen knew his next two starts would be his final ones for Toronto.
He stared out the window of a dark hotel room as he tried to piece together thoughts about his time with
the Jays.
The words did not come easy.
Nor would they flow any quicker after his final SkyDome start four days later. Hentgen left holding a 7-5
lead with one out in the seventh and got a standing ovation from 34,253 fans.
"When I walked off the mound that day in Toronto, the way they were cheering for me...it was very emotional
for me," he said. "I knew that it could be and might be my last game there as a Blue Jay."
Hentgen's final Blue Jays outing was a mix of triumph and despair.
He held the Cleveland Indians scoreless for eight innings at Jacobs Field just hours after flying in from
Michigan, where his father had undergone emergency surgery for a cancerous growth in his back.
He'd also learned that day that longtime friend and mentor Mel Queen was one of five coaches fired by the
Blue Jays.
A two-run homer by Alex Ramirez in the ninth blew Hentgen's shutout bid, but he still left a winner.
Hentgen was running on sheer willpower by that point and broke down in tears during post-game interviews.
Hentgen heads to pitching starved St. Louis looking to re-establish that staff and perhaps his career as well.
"You can't predict what's going to happen in 2000," Hentgen said. "All I know is you're going to get an
effort from me every fifth day."
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A class act is dismissed
By BOB ELLIOTT - Toronto Sun, November 12, 1999.
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. -- Gord Ash always told Pat Hentgen not to believe trade speculation when he read his
name in the paper.
The Blue Jays president and general manager promised Hentgen he would call if rumours ever were more than
just that.
At about 3 p.m. Wednesday, Ash made that call to Hentgen's Michigan home, informing the eight-year veteran
a trade was about to happen.
Hentgen, one of the best to wear a Blue Jays uniform, and left-handed reliever Paul Spoljaric were sent to
the St. Louis Cardinals for three players as the annual general managers meeting ended yesterday.
In return, the Jays obtained lefty reliever Lance Painter, catcher Alberto Castillo and minor-league pitcher
Matt DeWitt in deal which amounts to nothing more than a salary dump.
Hentgen will earn $6 million US in 2000 and the Cardinals have an option for 2001 at $6 million US, including
a $600,000 buyout.
Would it have made any difference to fans if Hentgen was dealt for an everyday player? Probably not.
"These deals are hard enough to make and this was the toughest I have ever made," Ash said. "But we feel like
we have some things in place that will allow us to make some other moves. This allows us to make that
next step."
In other words, it frees up some cash and allows the Jays to sign some players.
Ash left these meetings with talks continuing with the Indians, the Mets and the Yankees.
If trading Hentgen allows the Jays to add outfielder Alex Ramirez and third baseman Travis Fryman from the
Indians, then perhaps it is a means to an end. We shall see.
Ash realizes he will take a major public-relations beating as a result of moving two of Toronto's better players
this past week -- Shawn Green to the Dodgers and Hentgen to the Cards.
"It's not exactly like we were World Series champions," Ash said. "We are not exactly breaking up a winning
combination."
Moving Hentgen may open the door for subsequent moves. However, that should be secondary on a day when a
14-year career comes to an end for a career Jay.
"I remember in 1986 when (scout) Don Welke brought Pat into (former GM) Pat Gillick's office to sign him," Ash
said. "Hentgen never took anything for granted. He was always very humble and very appreciative. No one
represented the organization better than Pat Hentgen."
If Hentgen had a bad start, which happened with more regularity the past couple of seasons, he was always
there to face the television lights and the note pads.
A fifth-round draft selection in 1986, Hentgen made every start as if it was his final one.
"I was a 17-year-old punk when I came to the organization and they taught me how to play," Hentgen said during
a conference call. "I have three all-star rings and two World Series rings. I felt really fortunate to have
played in Toronto.
"I never let the trade talk bother me."
Which isn't quite true, as Hentgen led all Blue Jays in asking reporters about trade rumours.
He said his favourite memory as a Blue Jay was Joe Carter's dramatic home run to win the 1993 World Series
against the Phillies at the SkyDome.
It is typical Hentgen didn't pick Game 3 of that World Series, when a headline in a Philadelphia paper
read "Danny Jackson vs. Pat Who?"
Hentgen simply went out and allowed one run in six innings of a 10-3 victory. That he didn't pick his 183-game
iron-man streak (1993 to Sept. 10, 1998) or when he won the 1996 Cy Young Award speaks volumes.
My favourite memory of Hentgen -- aside from watching him pitch so brilliantly and enthusiastically -- was
early in the 1996 season at Yankee Stadium. Hentgen had just signed a multi-year deal, making him a very
rich man.
Then-manager Cito Gaston sat on the dugout bench while writers sat across from him. Batting practice ended
and players rushed by between the writers and Gaston.
Only one -- Hentgen -- said "Excuse me."
After Hentgen walked past, Gaston said: "There goes a guy who will never be changed by the amount of money
he earns."
Gaston was right -- Hentgen was a class act all the way.
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Jays dump Hentgen, save $5 million
Ash insists he - not Fregosi - wanted deal
By Geoff Baker - Toronto Star Sports Reporter, November 12, 1999.
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It will be tough for the Blue Jays to try and call their latest eye-popping trade anything but a salary dump.
But team president Gord Ash attempted to do just that yesterday after shipping pitcher Pat Hentgen and reliever
Paul Spoljaric to St. Louis for lefty reliever Lance Painter, backup catcher Alberto Castillo and pitching
prospect Matt DeWitt.
"It's certainly very difficult to give up someone like Pat Hentgen and Paul, but these are the kinds of moves
that you need to make to strengthen the ballclub," Ash said after a swap that nets the Jays about $5 million
(U.S.) in salary differential.
Onetime Cy Young Award winner Hentgen becomes the second high-profile Jay to leave town this week after Monday's
trade of right-fielder Shawn Green to Los Angeles.
Ash yesterday played down reports out of New York that had first baseman Carlos Delgado and pitcher David Wells
going to the Mets in a multi-player deal. Both may soon be gone as the team transforms into a mould more suited
to its budget and the liking of manager Jim Fregosi.
Money played a decisive role in the decision to jettison Hentgen after 14 years with the Toronto organization.
"He's got a year left on his contract, then he has an option," Ash said of Hentgen, who will earn $6.5 million
(U.S.) this season after going 11-12 with a 4.79 ERA in 1999. "Let's say he had a year similar to this year. I
don't think you would want to be in a situation a year from now to exercise that option at that number.
"It wouldn't allow us to retain Pat unless you met certain financial criteria. If he had a poor season, we
wouldn't be able to meet that financial criteria."
In other words, he costs too much for a sub-.500 pitcher.
Hentgen, 31, had known for some time that his days with a team he captured the Cy Young with in 1996 were
numbered.
"Gord (Ash) called me (Wednesday) night and said that things with St. Louis were heating up," Hentgen said. "I
respect him for that. He was very honest with me. He just said that it's just something the organization feels
it needs to do. It's a situation where it's a business and things happen."
As with any business, Hentgen said he believes office politics had some role.
His relations with Fregosi were strained at best, although not as bad as between Canadian-born Spoljaric and
the manager.
Spoljaric pitched his way into Fregosi's doghouse soon after coming to Toronto in a May trade that sent closer
Robert Person to Philadelphia. Fregosi openly criticized Spoljaric's decision to bean Twins hitter Cristian
Guzman with a pitch that sparked an August brawl.
Less than two weeks after that incident, Spoljaric was in a Seattle bar when Fregosi and third base coach Terry
Bevington arrived. Spoljaric is said to have walked out in disgust around the time comments were being made by
one of the two men. Fregosi was said to have been loudly critical of certain players.
Ash said he makes the decisions on trades, not Fregosi.
Painter, 32, was 4-5 with a 4.83 ERA in 56 games. Castillo, 29, is said to have a stronger arm than Jays backup
Mike Matheny. DeWitt, 22, was one of St. Louis' top prospects.
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Next start: St. Louis
Hentgen, Spoljaric shuffled off to Cards, but the dealing's far from done
By BOB ELLIOTT - Toronto Sun, November 12, 1999.
LAGUNA NIGUEL,Calif. -- From one flock of birds to another.
The Blue Jays shipped right-hander Pat Hentgen and left-handed reliever Paul Spoljaric to the St. Louis
Cardinals for left-handed reliever Lance Painter, catcher Alberto Castillo and minor-league pitcher Matt DeWitt
as the annual general managers meetings ended yesterday.
"I have no bad feelings, whether it be business, personality or overall performance -- the Jays thought it was
the right move," Hentgen, an eight-year veteran, said during a conference call. "The fans were awesome but
players come and players go."
Players such as John Mayberry, Willie Upshaw, Fred McGriff, Ernie Whitt and Hentgen may come and go but they
are not forgotten.
Detroit general manager Randy Smith expressed interest last week in Hentgen, a Michigan native. But the Tigers
balked when the Jays asked for catcher Robert Fick and lefty C.J. Nitkowski.
Toronto president and general manager Gord Ash leaves the California meetings with the groundwork laid in
trade talks with the following clubs:
- Cleveland -- Indians general manager John Hart thought he had San Diego right-hander Andy Ashby to
himself and was surprised to see Ashby dealt to Philadelphia late Wednesday. When members of the Blue Jays
party returned from dinner that night and were told Ashby was going to Philadelphia, there were pumped fists
in the air.
Hart losing out on Ashby means the Jays now can dangle lefty David Wells in front of the Indians and try to
get 30-year-old third baseman Travis Fryman in return.
Last season, Fryman was on the injured list twice with a knee injury and appeared in 85 games. He hit .255,
with 10 homers and 48 RBIs.
Until the injury-shortened season, Fryman had averaged 20-25 homers, 80-90 RBIs and a .290 average. He is
signed for the next three seasons at an average of $5.71 million US ($5.55 million in 2000, $5.75 million in
2001, $5.825 million in 2002 with a $6 million option in 2003).
Wells has two years and $16.66 million US remaining on his contract with the Jays.
- The Yankees -- Owner George Steinbrenner is interested in bringing Wells back. His baseball people
are not. The Jays are looking for a package that would include reliever Ramiro Mendoza, minor-league infielder
Alfonso Soriano and first baseman Nick Johnson.
- The Mets -- Toronto asked for right-handers Octavio Dotel and Masato Yoshi, centre fielder Roger
Cedeno, outfielder Jay Payton and a prospect in exchange for first baseman Carlos Delgado and Wells.
Two things will impact talks with the Mets.
First, indications are free-agent first baseman John Olerud will go to Seattle, which creates a need for
Delgado. Secondly, the Mets want to keep Cedeno as a bargaining chip as they try to acquire centre fielder
Ken Griffey from Seattle.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, got the man they were looking for.
"We had looked at Pat for a long time and we were interested in him all year," St. Louis general manager
Walt Jocketty said. "He improves our rotation. We have Hentgen, Kent Bottenfield, Rich Ankiel, Jose Jimenez
and we are still looking for a fifth."
Hentgen says he is healthy after elbow problems slightly curtailed his velocity.
"Unfortunately, business takes over," Hentgen said. "I am excited and looking forward to playing in a
great baseball city like St. Louis."
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Farewell to arms
By Richard Griffin - Toronto Star, November 12, 1999.
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PETER POWER
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Ash trades Hentgen, Spoljaric, but his moves haven't made team any better
TRADE No. 2 of the off-season by your Toronto Fregosis: Pat Hentgen and Paul Spoljaric to the Cardinals for
lefty reliever Lance Painter, backup catcher Alberto Castillo and pitching prospect, Matt DeWitt.
The Blue Jays point out proudly that they upgraded at two positions, backup catcher and mopup reliever, and
added a prospect to boot. They will insist they are a better team. But they're not. It's like trading a
symphony conductor for three maitre d's. Sure, they all report for work in tuxedos, but that doesn't make
them equal.
When Hentgen walked off the field at the SkyDome on Sept. 26, he knew it was likely his final start for the
Toronto fans. He stopped in front of the dugout and waved his cap to a thunderous standing ovation.
The fans knew what the moment meant.
"The fans were awesome," recalled Hentgen. "I walked off the mound and there was a standing ovation from the
dirt, almost to the dugout. I knew it could be, might be my last game there."
It's very likely Hentgen is not the last veteran to have played his last game at the SkyDome, to be Ash-canned
before the new year. Rumours are flying about lefty David Wells and first baseman Carlos Delgado, another
addition through subtraction of potentially $20 million (U.S.).
Wanna buy a luxury suite - cheap.
The Blue Jays's next ace in waiting - by default - Chris Carpenter was asked last season about missing the
influence and leadership of five-time Cy Young Award winner, Roger Clemens, traded to the Yankees the week
before spring training began.
Carpenter looked up quizzically. "Roger was a great pitcher, but, for me, personally, I learned more from
Pat Hentgen," he said. "Pat can show you how to battle when you don't have your best stuff. Can you
imagine how dominant he would be if he had the same attitude, but with Roger's stuff."
Carpenter will have to find a new role model. In fact, the three-year veteran had better be prepared. If
David Wells rolls out of town, Carpenter may be called upon as the main man for the rest of the Jays starters.
At this moment, sans Boomer, the Toronto rotation features Carpenter (24), Roy Halladay (22), Kelvim
Escobar (23), Joey Hamilton (29) and a fifth starter, likely to be acquired in a deal for Delgado and/or
Wells.
"I can't say (the new leader) will be myself," said Carpenter. "I just have to go to spring training and
do my thing and if people want to look to me as an example, it will happen. I will still do what I try and
do every time.
In the space of nine months, the Jays have lost Clemens, Dan Plesac, Mel Queen and Hentgen. There is no
grise left to be éminence. Of course, the manager prides himself on his pitching expertise.
The Jays' first-year pitching coach, Rick Langford, four years ago was with the Long Beach Barracudas
in an independent pro league. He then spent two years as pitching coach at A-Dunedin and one at Triple-A
Syracuse. He pitched 11 years in the majors, retiring in 1988, but his inexperience around today's crop of
major-league players makes young Jays starters seem like grizzled veterans.
It's a shame. At the age of 30, Pat Hentgen was just coming into his own. That may sound like an oxymoron, but
two years ago, Hentgen encountered his first physical setback of his career.
He had his streak of consecutive starts snapped - quite reluctantly - and was shut down for the final month.
The metamorphosis from painter to artist then began. Hentgen struggled in the first half last season, making
him look like a washed-up, overpaid, burned-out relic. But his confidence and command returned in the second
half. He's ready to rock once again.
It's tough to fool the fans. Hentgen was a class act from beginning to end in his mostly starry career with
the Blue Jays.
His weaknesses were easy to forgive, if you're they type of person who admires hard-nosed competitors.
Hentgen never wanted to miss a start. Never wanted to leave a game. Never wanted to pitch around a hitter.
Never let anyone throw at a teammate without retaliation. Never would admit to being hurt. And never made
excuses for his failures.
If you can't like that, then maybe chess is your sport.
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Hentgen deal adds to dismay
By MIKE RUTSEY - Toronto Sun, November 12, 1999.
There wasn't shock, just a lot of dismay.
Pat Hentgen's trade brought that out in his teammates.
As the Blue Jay with the longest consecutive tenure -- eight full seasons -- Hentgen was the player with the
quick smile and stature all looked up to.
Now he is gone, shipped off to the St. Louis Cardinals along with Paul Spoljaric for three players, none of
whom are in Hentgen's league.
"I don't know what to say," Chris Carpenter, a fellow member of the Jays' starting staff and close friend
of Hentgen's, said. "He has done a lot for me in my short time in the big leagues. I owe him a lot.
"It's sad for me personally because he was a friend. He was, for lack of a better word, a nice guy, a really
good guy and he took care of me. He never made me feel I was below anybody else when I was a rookie. He helped
me fit in."
Carpenter said what he will miss most about Hentgen, from a performance standpoint, is his fierce desire to win.
"When you watched him you could see his competitiveness and the way he loved to go out every five days to
pitch," Carpenter said. "You could learn a lot more about attitude watching Pat then what pitches to throw and
how to pitch. He hated not being successful and when he was he took it as something that should be normal.
"It will be sad for me to see him leave Toronto but for Pat he is finally past all the trade rumours. He'll be
fine."
With Hentgen's departure, baby-faced shortstop Alex Gonzalez, all of 25 years old, is now the Blue Jay with
the longest consecutive tenure -- five-plus seasons.
"With everything that has been happening it is hard to swallow," Gonzalez said of the departure of friends and
the arrival of new players. "There's a lot of new faces we're going to have to get used to.
"Pat was a veteran player we could count on, he had been through a lot. He had experience and was a good guy in
the clubhouse to have around. He kept everybody upbeat and was a lot of fun to play with. He was a workhorse
and everybody liked him."
Gonzalez said he expected changes to be made, but not on the sweeping scale of losing Shawn Green, Hentgen
and, in all probability Carlos Delgado and David Wells.
"There are so many changes so early (in the off-season)," Gonzalez said. "I wasn't expecting that. The scary
thing is it probably is not over.
"With all the changes it is going to be difficult to know what kind of a team we are going to be fielding. There
are so many question marks."
As hard as it is for the players to absorb the events, Gonzalez said it probably is harder for the Blue Jays'
fans.
"I'm sure it's difficult for the fans to see some of those players leave," he said. "They are going to have
to get to know the new players coming in. But I know it's going to take some time for fans to get over
losing Shawn and Pat."
Catcher Darrin Fletcher believes Hentgen will be difficult to replace.
"I thought he was the leader of the staff," Fletcher said. "How are your going to replace his innings and
character?
"He was the utmost professional and a great competitor and is going to be missed."
With Hentgen now gone, Fletcher is praying the club resists the urge to trade Wells.
"With Pat gone, I can't see them getting rid of Boomer," Fletcher said. "You have to have a bonafide No. 1
guy and with us Boomer's the guy."
All in all, it has been a tough week for Fletcher.
"With (Shawn) Green gone, there goes my card partner on the plane," Fletcher joked. "Pat was my lunch date
every day."
So who is going to step forward from among the young guns on the staff to fill Hentgen's role?
"Ask me that in February when we see who's there," Fletcher said.
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The decline and fall of the Blue Jays empire
By Rosie DiManno - Toronto Star, November 12, 1999.
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I REMEMBER a young man in windswept Comiskey Park, riding the crest of a dreamboy season and thinking it
could never get better than this.
That was Pat Hentgen, just 24 years old, and keeping his fingers crossed that fellow moundsman Dave Stewart
would beat the Chicago White Sox the next day, Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
If not, Hentgen - just a sophomore major league pitcher - would get the ball for a deciding Game 7.
"Listen, I'm hoping that we can wrap up this thing in six," he admitted. "Dave Stewart's the big man
and everybody knows it. But I don't care what anybody says. I know I'm capable of winning a Game 7."
It wouldn't be necessary, not in that series. And about a week later, Hentgen defeated the Philadelphia
Phillies - managed then by Jim Fregosi - 10-3 in Game 3 of the World Series, allowing one run in six innings.
Yesterday afternoon, the now no-longer-Jay recalled his fondest moment playing ball for Toronto, the
organization that drafted him and incubated him and nurtured him over a period of 14 years.
"When Joe Carter hit that home run," to win Toronto's second consecutive World Series title. "I saw him
hook that ball foul all year. For some reason, (that night) it stayed fair."
Two championship rings - even though Hentgen was on the DL for the '92 Series - and a Cy Young award and
a good bet to eat up some 200 innings a year: That's the superficial epitaph for Hentgen, traded yesterday
to St. Louis, along with Paul Spoljaric, for . . . babkes.
Toronto seems no place to be anymore, for good guys.
This latest abomination by GM Gord Ash appears no more than a salary dump, although one might suggest such
a move would have been more understandable before Shawn Green was dispatched to L.A., and before the latest
offer to Carlos Delgado was taken off the table.
It feels like a creeping case of gangrene: The Blue Jays are being mutilated, an amputation every 48
hours-or-so. Reminds me of that Monty Python scene where the Black Knight loses one arm and then the other,
one leg and then the other, and then threatens to bite Sir Lancelot in the knee: "None shall pass!"
These Blue Jay remnants will be lucky if they manage to bite any opponent in the knee come next season.
The Hentgen trade may not even have been a bad idea, except that Ash got nothing of substance in return, and
the $5 million he's saving in salary is not necessarily earmarked for subsequent personnel expenditure. The
Jays aren't buyers anymore. They're sellers. Itinerant peddlars, using the imagery Ash provided for himself,
hanging around the lobby down there in that southern California resort, waiting until every single major
league general manager had departed the meetings, an eager vending machine.
Rather a pathetic scenario, no?
For his part, the always gracious and thoroughly classy Hentgen went out with barely a boo directed at the
Blue Jays organization. The only complaints were between the lines: "Jim (Fregosi) has his own view of things
and obviously I wasn't a part of it," he said, essentially confirming speculation that Fregosi has put Ash
up to his house-cleaning. "Jim felt I wasn't in the plans for 2000."
Well golly, who is?
As recently as a few days ago, Ash told reporters he had no plans to trade Hentgen. But Ash prevaricates.
Yesterday he suggested circumstances had changed. This is convenient dissembling.
Baseball, like all sports, is a savage business. But the Blue Jays were once more noble than the rest.
This was a good place to come to, with honourable management and lofty goals, where loyalty was valued. Even
in the bad years, there always seemed to be a plan.
Now it feels like a post-nuclear wasteland. And only cockroaches are said to survive those.
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