The San Francisco Giants almost came back from 8-0 down in game four of the 1989 World Series. But they couldn't quite do it.
San Fran, you see, was simply over-matched. It had been a bad year for baseball. Pete Rose was kicked out of baseball, the commissioner who passed the sentence on him died. Billy Martin was killed in a car accident in December.
But there was the matter of the World Series. It seemed almost like a formality. The Oakland A's got by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, losing just game three. They looked unstoppable. The first three games of the 1989 Fall Classic proved that. It was almost too easy.
Game 4 saw Oakland surge ahead early. Ricky Henderson led off the game with a long ball. In the top of the 2nd, it was A's starter Mike Moore somehow getting two RBIs with a double. Henderson singled for another run. 4-0, Oakland. Three more runs in the top of the 5th made it 7-0. A Carney Lansford double in the top of the 6th inning made it 8-0 for the A's.
San Francisco had scored seven runs in game three, but many (if not all) of them were meaningless. Here, they'd need at least nine runs somehow.
Kevin Mitchell got two for the Giants with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 6th. The A's were blanked in the top of the 7th, with Moore removed for a pinch hitter.
But Gene Nelson came in for Oakland and seemed poised to end all this nonsense. Alas, Gene walked the first batter of the inning. And then another 2-run home run, this time by Greg Litton, and the lead was finally in half. 8-4. The Giants had no intention of stopping there. You see, their backs were still firmly against the wall!
With one out and Rick Honeycutt now pitching, future Jay Candy Maldonado hit a clutch, pinch-hit triple. Bret Butler doubled home the Candy Man to make it 8-5. Robby Thompson was sent up to pinch-hit. And he too, came through! A single to center scored Butler, and the Giants were within two runs. And the tying run was at the dish!
The rally died right there, as the next two batters were retired. But at least, this game was now a close one. However, Oakland wasn't done swinging their sticks at Candlestick Park on this day!
The A's loaded the bases up against Steve Bedrosian in the top of the 8th. When catcher Terry Steinbach walked, Oakland could breath a little easier, 9-6.
Todd Burns, who had put out the fire in the bottom of the 7th for Oakland, had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th. Bedrosian did likewise to the A's in the top of the 9th. And when Dennis Eckersley came in and had a 1-2-3 (typical) 9th for Oakland, the Athletics were the World Series Champions for 1989.
It had been a sweep, and only this game was close. And only for the first inning and the bottom of the 7th on. But The Quake was the real story. 25 years later, when I think about the 1989 World Series, it's always the false start to game 3. But San Francisco, with their rally in the 6th and 7th inning of game four, gave their fans something else to think about other than that. At least for the time being!
References
Youtube. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com>.
San Fran, you see, was simply over-matched. It had been a bad year for baseball. Pete Rose was kicked out of baseball, the commissioner who passed the sentence on him died. Billy Martin was killed in a car accident in December.
But there was the matter of the World Series. It seemed almost like a formality. The Oakland A's got by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, losing just game three. They looked unstoppable. The first three games of the 1989 Fall Classic proved that. It was almost too easy.
Game 4 saw Oakland surge ahead early. Ricky Henderson led off the game with a long ball. In the top of the 2nd, it was A's starter Mike Moore somehow getting two RBIs with a double. Henderson singled for another run. 4-0, Oakland. Three more runs in the top of the 5th made it 7-0. A Carney Lansford double in the top of the 6th inning made it 8-0 for the A's.
San Francisco had scored seven runs in game three, but many (if not all) of them were meaningless. Here, they'd need at least nine runs somehow.
Kevin Mitchell got two for the Giants with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 6th. The A's were blanked in the top of the 7th, with Moore removed for a pinch hitter.
But Gene Nelson came in for Oakland and seemed poised to end all this nonsense. Alas, Gene walked the first batter of the inning. And then another 2-run home run, this time by Greg Litton, and the lead was finally in half. 8-4. The Giants had no intention of stopping there. You see, their backs were still firmly against the wall!
With one out and Rick Honeycutt now pitching, future Jay Candy Maldonado hit a clutch, pinch-hit triple. Bret Butler doubled home the Candy Man to make it 8-5. Robby Thompson was sent up to pinch-hit. And he too, came through! A single to center scored Butler, and the Giants were within two runs. And the tying run was at the dish!
The rally died right there, as the next two batters were retired. But at least, this game was now a close one. However, Oakland wasn't done swinging their sticks at Candlestick Park on this day!
The A's loaded the bases up against Steve Bedrosian in the top of the 8th. When catcher Terry Steinbach walked, Oakland could breath a little easier, 9-6.
Todd Burns, who had put out the fire in the bottom of the 7th for Oakland, had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th. Bedrosian did likewise to the A's in the top of the 9th. And when Dennis Eckersley came in and had a 1-2-3 (typical) 9th for Oakland, the Athletics were the World Series Champions for 1989.
It had been a sweep, and only this game was close. And only for the first inning and the bottom of the 7th on. But The Quake was the real story. 25 years later, when I think about the 1989 World Series, it's always the false start to game 3. But San Francisco, with their rally in the 6th and 7th inning of game four, gave their fans something else to think about other than that. At least for the time being!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Retrosheet. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
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