Great Moments In Baseball History: The 1989 Oakland A's Achieve Immortality
By Sam McPherson
The 1989 Oakland Athletics were many things, including World Series champions. They took the tough route to get there, however, losing the 1988 World Series despite being big favorites. It's a moment the A's would revisit, sadly, in the 1990 World Series. But sandwiched in between final-round upsets, the 1989 version of the Oakland Athletics achieved immortality.
The team won 99 games, despite losing 1988 American League Most Valuable Player Jose Canseco for 97 games to injury. All-Star closer Dennis Eckersley also missed almost seven weeks of the season, from late May to mid-July. Oh, and 1988 AL Rookie of the Year shortstop Walt Weiss missed 78 games, too. How many teams could lose three key players like that and still roll to 99 wins? Not many.
This was a team deep in talent and desire. The A's were on a mission to win the Series after the Los Angeles Dodgers rode a lucky swing and a hot ace pitcher to the title in 1988, beating Oakland in five games rather easily. This team would not be denied their championship.
With those injuries, the A's didn't take over first place for good until August 10, when both Canseco and Eck were back at 100 percent. The mid-summer re-acquisition of perennial All-Star Rickey Henderson didn't hurt, either. Rickey was nothing short of fantastic back home in front of the Oakland fans—in just 85 games with the A's, he stole 52 bases.
Season-long stalwarts in the lineup included first baseman Mark McGwire (33 home runs, 95 RBI), designated hitter Dave Parker (22 HRs, 97 RBI), and third baseman Carney Lansford (.336 average, 37 steals). Once again, too, the starting pitching was amazing: Four different A's starters won at least 17 games in 1989.
Dave Stewart did his usual thing, posting a 21-9 record with a 3.32 ERA, while Mike Moore (19-11, 2.61) and Storm Davis (19-7) each posted 19 victories. Toss in Bob Welch and his 17-8 record with a 3.00 ERA, and it was a formidable rotation to crack for opponents on a weekly basis.
Eckersley still managed to save 33 games with a 4-0 record and 1.56 ERA, while lefty Rick Honeycutt (12 saves, 2.35) and righty Todd Burns (eight saves, 2.24) ably filled in for Eck when he was out. The A's led the AL in saves, thanks to this trio of relievers who were ready when called upon by Manager Tony LaRussa.
In the AL Championship Series, Oakland faced the Toronto Blue Jays—who would go on to earn their own immortality a few seasons later, of course. But in 1989, they weren't ready yet. The A's won the first two games at home in the Coliseum easily, and then after the Blue Jays beat up Davis in Game Three, the real show really began for baseball fans.
Henderson drove in four runs with two HRs, while Canseco hit the deepest ball anyone has ever seen hit on live TV, really: YouTube still loves that home run. The fifth-deck shot off Jose's bat was deflating for the Blue Jays, and they never really recovered. The A's won Game Four, 6-5, and in Game Five, Stewart and Eck combined to eliminate Toronto, 4-3.
It was on the World Series again for Oakland, and their the team would face its cross-bay rivals, the San Francisco Giants. In a four-game sweep that wasn't very competitive at all—the Giants never led at any point in the Series—the A's righted the wrongs from 1988 in a dominant display.
Overall, Oakland outscored San Francisco, 32-14, and outhit them, 44-28. The A's won the first two games at the Coliseum, 5-0 and 5-1, behind dominant efforts from Stewart and Moore. After the Loma Prieta Earthquake forced the postponement of Game Three for 10 days, Oakland picked up right where it had left off.
Stewart started Game Three and held the Giants to three runs before S.F. scored four meaningless runs of the A's bullpen in the ninth inning of a 13-7 loss. Moore pitched Game Four, and he was very strong again, too. Once again, the Giants got to Oakland's bullpen late for four runs, but the 9-6 win for the A's clinched the Series in four games.
Naturally, Stewart was the MVP, but it really could have been a number of A's to claim the award. Oakland hit .301 as a team for the Series, so Canseco (.357, one HR, three RBI), Henderson (.474, one HR, three RBI), Dave Henderson (.308, two HR, four RBI), Lansford (.438, one HR, four RBI) and catcher Terry Steinbach (one HR, seven RBI) were all worthy of MVP status.
The A's dominance was so complete, they used only six pitchers the entire World Series. Stewart's complete-game shutout effort in Game One, however, set the tone for the Series. Eckersley was only needed to save one game, and that was the Game Four clincher.
Of course, Oakland would get swept themselves in the 1990 Series by the Cincinnati Reds, and in nine postseason appearances since then, the A's have failed to make it back to the title round of the MLB playoffs. Oakland has won a whopping seven AL West titles since 1990, but they've only reached the ALCS twice (1992, 2006) in that span.
With the financial dynamic of baseball having changed in the early 1990s, the A's went from being one of the highest-spending teams to now being one of the lowest-spending teams. No small-payroll team has won the Series since 2003, so for Oakland to win again any time soon, it would be an amazing achievement.
For now, Bay Area fans can remember the Battle of the Bay in the 1989 Fall Classic for more than just an earthquake: They can remember it as the last championship for a dominant team that won three straight league pennants with great ease. In Bay Area baseball history, only the 1972-74 A's also have won three straight league pennants, and chances are it will never happen again.
Sam McPherson is a freelance writer covering baseball, football, basketball and fantasy sports for many online sites, including CBS, AXS and Examiner.