After a one-year hiatus, the A's were back in the ALCS for the fourth time in a five-year span. Rickey Henderson, who had been a one-man wrecking crew in a sweep of Toronto during the 1990 ALCS, was back. So was Dennis Eckersley, who had saved 51 games in the regular season and was so completely dominant, a rare exception was made for him: a Cy Young?and?MVP award.

But the Eck had proven human on a big stage four years earlier at Dodger Stadium when Kirk Gibson took him deep in the World Series, and although this situation was much different, something similar and historically profound would happen in this ALCS.

Roberto Alomar had homered to lead Toronto to a big turning-point victory in Game 3 at Oakland, taking a 2-1 series lead. In Game 4 there the following day, the Blue Jays came back from a 6-1 deficit and were down 6-4 when Alomar came up in the ninth inning with a man on. Dick Stockton's call for CBS: "And a drive hit to right field ... Sierra going back ... looking up ... and this game is tied!"

It was a memorable matchup involving two future Hall of Famers.

To many Blue Jays fans, it remains the biggest hit in the franchise's history, in some ways even bigger than Joe Carter's later World Series walk-off shot in '93, because it was the proverbial launching of Canada's first world championship and a Toronto repeat. The Blue Jays had been considered near-misses in October, maybe even "uninspired," but Alomar was this ALCS MVP and his homer off Eckersley was the big reason why. It forced Game 4 into extra innings, and a sac fly by Pat Borders in the 11th sealed a 7-6 comeback victory and a series lead that Toronto would not relinquish. Canada's first Fall Classic awaited, and new Blue Jays starter Jack Morris was going to be right back on a stage he once owned.

Path to the ALCS: Toronto (96-66) won the AL East by four games; Oakland (96-66) won the AL West by six games

Managers: Cito Gaston, TOR; Tony La Russa, OAK

MVP: Roberto Alomar