World Series: Did You Know?

Dave Stewart was the first pitcher to win two games in the League Championship and the World Series the same year. It was 1989 and Oakland was looking for their first world championship. But something Jose Canseco did made everyone forget about the American League Championship. Then, something far more serious, and not to far away from baseball, overshadowed the World Series.

Oakland faced my guys, the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS. Stewart got the call in game one in Oakland. The Jays countered with Dave Stieb, the best pitcher in the clubs history. But after this game, there was no doubt who was the better pitcher.

The Jays actually got to Stew early, taking a quick 2-0 lead after 1 1/2. After the Athletics scored a run in the bottom of the second, it was Toronto back with one of their own in the top of the fourth. Stieb pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the frame, but Oakland cut the lead to one the next inning. Then, they knocked out Stieb the next inning, taking the lead for good, 5-3. Two more runs later in the game made it 7-3 as Stewart settled down. His next start was game five at the SkyDome, and it was far more competitive, although Stewart had the early lead.

Oakland, leading 3-1, were looking to put the finishing touches on Toronto. Stieb was also back, and at his best. He and the Jays bullpen held Ricky and Dave Henderson, Canseco and Mark McGwire and company to just four hits. The A's, however, scored a run in the top of the first and third. Stieb blanked Oakland for the next three innings, but he must have been getting pretty exasperated at this point. Toronto, you see, were being blanked by Stewart.

And in the top of the seventh, it all came undone for Stieb and the Jays. Two singles and a walk dispatched him to the showers. A sac bunt off new pitcher Jim Acker got a fourth run home. Smooth sailing from here for Dave and Oakland? Only in their dreams.

Bottom of the eighth, one out and Oakland needed only five more retired men to get this thing in the record books. But Lloyd Moseby hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the ninth, it was still 4-1 Oakland, when George Bell got to do the home run trot. That made it 4-2. Steward was also out of the game. Dennis Eckersley came in, and Toronto tacked on another run before the final batter was retired. Stewart had his second win. And Oakland had their second straight pennant!



All this was fine and good, but Stewart's two games pitched are forgotten. When people talk about the 1989 ALCS, they talk about game four and Jose Canseco's tape measured home run off Mike Flanagan. A long one for sure. It ended up in the fifth deck of Skydome!

So Oakland was in the World Series, and favoured against the San Francisco Giants. Game one was in Oakland. As was the case in the ALCS, it was Stewart's turn again. Here, he was even better. Oakland gave him five runs by the bottom of the fourth. But Dave only needed one. He went the distance and finished with a five-hit shutout!



Game three was not going to have Dave Stewart pitching. But as game three was about to begin...



It didn't get off the ground! That's because of The Quake. A huge one. Try 7.1! It was felt all over the area. Devastating. Needless to say, the World Series was postponed.

When it resumed, it was October 27th. Oakland was up 2-0 and looking to go up another game. The delay allowed Stewart back to the hill. And Oakland gave him a quick 2-0 in the top of the first. Oh sure, Matt Williams got one back with a solo home run in the bottom of the second, but the A's scored twice more in the top of the fourth. The Giants weren't done there, and scored twice more in the bottom of the inning to cut it to 4-3. The very next inning, the Athletics put a "4" on the scoreboard as Jose Canseco and Dave Henderson hit home runs. It was now 8-3 and Stewart had more then he needed.

Stewart departed for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth. By the time San Francisco came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, it was 13-3. The Giants scored four more times in that inning before finally making the last out. However, it mattered little. Oakland was up three games to zero and looking for the sweep.




Oakland got it with a 9-6 win in game four. Stewart obviously did not pitch. But with the sweep, Oakland had it's first Fall Classic win since 1974. Stewart also had an MVP for his performance. True, when I think of the 1989 postseason in baseball, it's the image of Canseco's blast and The Quake, but Dave Stewart helped make it a happy ending for the Oakland A's!


References

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

World Series: Did You Know?

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

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.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web 11 Apr. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.

Youtube. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com>.

World Series: Did You Know?

The San Francisco Giants, despite being swept and routed in the 1989 World Series, had their moments. One was the dramatic last inning of game 3. That was the first World Series game played after The Quake.

Oakland had won game 1 of the 1989 Fall Classic 5-0. Dave Stewart tossed the shutout for Oakland. Game 2 was tied at 1 after 3 1/2 innings. The Athletics used a four run uprising in the bottom of the fourth to win the game, 5-1.

Game 3 was delayed 10 days because an Earthquake on October 17th. But when play resumed at Candlestick Park, so did the rout.

Actually, game 3 was only 4-3 after 4, but then it was time for another four runs by Oakland. It was in the top of the fifth that the A's started to just hammer it out of here. There would be more to come. Both Jose Canseco and Dave Henderson hit shots that found the seats in that inning. The A's didn't stop there. They followed up their four-run fifth with another tally in the sixth via a Carney Lansford home run. It was 9-4 for Oakland. And they still weren't through.

Lansford knocked in another run on a hit in the top of the 8th. And error on the play plated still another. Two more runs by Oakland and it was now a 13-3 rout.

Dave Stewart, who had pitched seven fine innings, was pinch-hit for in that fateful 8th inning. Rick Honeycutt took over in the 8th and stopped the Giants on just one hit. In the 9th, it was Gene Nelson that took over. That's where things got a little interesting! Turns out those four runs scored in the 8th meant a lot, after all!

Ken Oberkfell led off with a walk and Kirt Manwaring hit a one-out double. Bill Bath was sent up to pinch-hit. It was his first World Series plate appearance. Bath amazingly, Bill hit a 3-run, pinch-hit blast. It was the first time someone had a hit a pinch-hit long ball in their first ever World Series plate appearance. San Fran was not done yet, either. Candy Maldonado went down on strikes to put Oakland an out away from going up 3-0 in the 1989 Fall Classic. But Donell Nixon singled. Todd Burns came in to relieve Nelson. Greg Litton doubled him home to make it 13-7, Oakland. Will Clark walked before Burns finally got Oakland out of their when he retired Kevin Mitchell on a fly to deep left.

The A's went on to sweep San Francisco in the 1989 World Series. Alas, this game will always be remembered for baseball, "Getting back to business."


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. 8 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. 8 Apr. 2014.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web 8 Apr. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.

Youtube. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

World Series: Did You Know?

Dennis Eckersley had quite a wait before his first Fall Classic save. Something completely unforeseen prevented him from racking up one up for so long!

Having come to the A's in 1987, they changed him from a starter to a closer. Before that, he watched many an October come and go. He was on the 1978 Boston Red Sox, who might have gone all the way but lost to New York in a one-game playoff.

He made two early starts and also pitched some long relief that season. But the A's had an idea: convert him to a 1-inning closer and Dennis will dominate.

He sure did. That year opponents batted just .215 against him from innings 7 to 9. Then, in the 9th inning, opponents batted .192! The A's had it made for him.

Eck saved 16 games that year. But how about 1988?

Eckersley topped the AL in saves with 45 and he permitted just 11 walks in 72 2/3 innings. But it only seemed to get better in the postseason.

The A's beat the Red Sox in 4 straight, but it was a close 4. Indeed, Oakland needed Eckerlsey to slam the door.

All he did was get 4 saves.

So it was on to the World Series, but as we all know, Kirk Gibson ruined Dennis' attempt for a save in game 1. Too bad, as it would have been 5 saves in 5 postseason games. But this was one Los Angeles Dodgers team that had a flair for the dramatic. Poor Dennis was just one strike away, and then Gibby took it all away.

Orel Hershesier completely dominated Oakland in game 2, and the A's struggled to get their high-octang offence going in game 3. Tied going into the bottom of the nine, Dennis' chances for a save disappeared. Eck never got into the game. Mark McGwire's dramatic home run (but it proved to be his only hit of the Series) got the Athletics right back into the Fall Classic.

It also appeared this hom erun would lift the A's spirits like Gibson's did to the Dodgers'. They played a spirited 4th game, which is always a crucial game in the Series. The Series was a home-team-wins-every-game so far, but that changed.

The A's had been out-hit in evey game, including 10-3 in game 2 and even 8-5 in game 3. Game 1, if it matters, had 7 hits a side.

Oakland got 9 hits in this game. Los Angeles got 8. But guess who won?

The Dodgers scored 3 runs early off Oakland starter Dave Stewart, but the man with The Stare settled down and Oakland scored twice to pull within a run. The Dodgers' magic was fading.

But in the 7th, LA scored again. All it took was a walk, a single and a groundout. But it was enough.

A Dave Henderson double in the bottom of the frame got the A's right back to within a run. A walk and an error got McGwire back up. One swing here, and it's 6-4 Oakland. Then in comes Eckersley, and this Series is tied!

But, alas, it was not to be.

Jay Howell, who gave up the longball to Mark the previous game, got him to pop out this time.

The Atheltics got a runner on in the 8th but failed to score. Eckersley did pitch the 9th.

A fine job he did, as he stranded the only hit he allowed. Plus, he fanned Steve Sax.

Oakland put the tying run on first with just 1 out in the 9th, but Howell again settled down. Canseco fanned and Dave Parker popped out.

Hershiser finished off Oakland in game 5. Dennis would have to wait another year.

In 1989, Oakland won the West again. Eckersley had 33 saves and walked 3 batters in 57 2/3 innings.

Oh, and my Jays felt his full wraith in the ALCS. All Dennis did was save 3 games and post an ERA of 1.59.

Now comes the problem. The World Series opponents this year were not the Dodgers, but another team out in the West. Not far for Oakland to go. Justa across the Bay Bridge. But crossing the bridge would soon be difficult.

The San Franciso Giant were playing in their first World Series since 1962. They were sort of in over their heads, as you will soon see.

Stewart got the ball rolling on a shutout in game 1. Oakland took game 2, 5-1. Eckersley got the final 2 outs, but no save. Oakland was up 4 runs by the end of the 4th inning. Eckerlsey would have needed to come in and get the last 9 batters out to get the save.

Game 3 saw the Bay Bridge and the whole area rattled by The Quake. That was October 17, 1989. And it happened just before game 3, so the game was not played at all.

So 10 days later (it must have felt like an eternity for most baseball fans) game 3 got going. The A's were up 13-3 going into the 9th. A sort-of rally saw the Giants score 4 times. But Eck never made it in.

Oakland was up 3-0 in the Series, and in danger of a sweep. However, could Eckersley would go 2 straight World Series without a save? What a baseball world we live in!

Oakland kept strafing the Giants pitching in game 4. By the bottom of the 6th, it was 8-0 Oakland.

But San Francisco did not go away quietly.

A Kevin Mitchell 2-run home run broke the shutout bid of Oakland starter Mike Moore. Then 4 more runs the very next inning cut the lead to 8-6. Never say die.

The A's got a much-needed insurance run in the top of the 8th on a Terry Steinbach walk with the bases loaded.

Todd Burns, now pitching for Oakland, retired the Giants 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. Steve Bedrosian did the same to Oakland in the top of the 9th. The A's were three outs away from a World Series sweep!

Oh, yeah! And it's a save situation!

So Eckersley was in to get the save!

He wasted no time, as 2 pitches later there were two outs. Bret Butler would be the last Giant batter of the game.

On Eckersley's second pitch, he hit a roller to second. Mark McGwire, the first basemen, was out of position to cover first.Dennis himself covered first for the final out.

Dennis must have been happy to get that stigma off his back. But he knew this Series was not going to be remembered for its one-lopsidedness, or his first Fall Classic save. It would be about only the quake.

Nothing more need be said.


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.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Dec 8, 2013.