Blue Jays Vault: Henke seals remarkable run to '89 AL East crown

MLB.com is digging back into its massive video vault to uncover classic plays that you have loved, forgotten about or, perhaps, are discovering for the very first time. Watch these moments and many, many more on the MLB Vault YouTube page.

Sept. 30, 1989: Blue Jays seal incredible run to AL East crown
On July 5, 1989, the Blue Jays were 10 games back in the AL East and sat seven games under .500 with very little momentum. Then, they caught fire under manager Cito Gaston, who had replaced Jimy Williams earlier in the year. After going 20-9 in August, Toronto closed out a 17-10 September when Tom Henke locked down the club's second-to-last game of the season, clinching the AL East. This was an exceptionally talented Blue Jays roster, but they ran into a great A's team in the ALCS, which they dropped in five games.

July 20, 2006: Vernon Wells walks off Mariano Rivera, Yankees
Hitting a walk-off home run is always special, but doing it against Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera puts this Vernon Wells shot on another tier. Wells already had three hits in this ballgame in 2006, all singles, but this blast in the bottom of the 11th sealed the deal. Wells was in the middle of one of the finest seasons of his career, too, going on to hit .303 with 32 home runs, 106 RBIs and an .899 OPS, earning him his second trip to the All-Star Game.

July 18, 1998: Delgado launches an upper-deck moonshot
The 500-level is rare territory at Rogers Centre, which was still SkyDome when Carlos Delgado landed a home run there in '98. Jose Canseco did it a handful of times and Manny Ramirez's 2001 blast off Chris Carpenter might still be bouncing around in the blue seats, but Delgado's was perhaps the most memorable. Making it even more impressive was that Delgado, one of the most underrated sluggers of his era, did it against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte.

Oct. 21, 1992: Jimmy Key picks off Otis Nixon in big moment
Jimmy Key pitched brilliantly in the 1992 World Series, making one start and a pair of relief appearances, and this clutch pickoff of Otis Nixon was one of his finest moments. With the Blue Jays leading Atlanta, 2-1, in the series, Nixon led off Game 4 with a single but was quickly erased by the savvy lefty's pickoff move. Key settled in and pitched 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball to earn the win, one of the brightest moments of his Blue Jays career.

June 5, 1989: McGriff launches first homer in SkyDome history
It was SkyDome's grand opening in 1989 as the Blue Jays debuted their new stadium in downtown Toronto with a 5-3 loss to the Brewers. Fred McGriff made history with the first home run hit at SkyDome, an opposite-field shot off Don August. McGriff hit 32 of his career 493 home runs at SkyDome, which was renamed Rogers Centre in 2005.

May 3, 1994: Hentgen's dominant start
After establishing himself in 1993 as part of the Blue Jays' World Series team, Pat Hentgen delivered one of the best outings in club history in '94. At the time, Hentgen's 14 strikeouts against the Royals were a team record. The right-hander's two-hit shutout on 116 pitches gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 win thanks to an RBI single from Joe Carter.

Sept. 29, 1989: Moseby walks it off in '89 stretch run
Entering the final series of the 1989 season against Baltimore, the Blue Jays had a one-game lead over the Orioles in the AL East. Thanks to Lloyd Moseby's walk-off single in the 11th inning at SkyDome, the Blue Jays took a two-game cushion, which they would hold to earn a trip to the postseason. Toronto eventually lost, 4-1, to the A's in the ALCS, but that stacked '89 roster had the talent to do more.

June 16, 1988: Tony Fernandez scores ... on his own bunt
On Jack Morris' first pitch of the game, Blue Jays great Tony Fernandez laid a slap bunt down the third-base line and it all came unravelled for the Tigers. After a throwing error to first base, the throw back across the diamond to third sailed, too. A total of three errors allowed Fernandez to score on his own bunt, setting up a 3-for-4 day with two runs scored.

Aug. 19, 1998: Dave Stieb records save following comeback
After four years out of the Majors, the great Stieb was in camp with the Blue Jays as a guest instructor in 1998. He would throw off the mound in between tossing batting practice, which sparked an unlikely comeback for the right-hander. At age 40, Stieb pitched 50 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays with a 4.83 ERA, including a three-inning save against the Mariners.

July 31, 1994: White reaches over wall, robs homer
There's a reason that all Blue Jays outfielders are still held to the defensive bar of Devon White. Brilliant catches came to be expected over White's five years in Toronto, but this one to rob Leo Gomez of a home run in 1994 ranks among his finest. In classic Devo fashion, he glided across the outfield and found a way to make even this remarkable grab look casual.