NOTEBOOK

Winning the pennant was vindication for Gaston, who admitted to crying after the game had ended.

“I’ve been here a lot of years,” he said. “We tried in ’85 and again in ’89 and we didn’t make it. It’s been a hard road, but we finally made it. There’s been a lot of tears along the way, believe me.”

Said General Manager Pat Gillick, who reportedly wanted to dismiss Gaston after the Blue Jays’ five-game defeat by the Minnesota Twins last year but was overruled: “I think Cito had a good series, maybe a little better than the other guy (Oakland Manager Tony La Russa).”