The Athletics made up for losing the 1988 World Series by sweeping the San Francisco Giants the next year. Oakland didn't exactly stop there. In 1990, they were back in the Fall Classic for a third straight season. They swept the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.
So, the opposition was the Cincinnati Reds (91-71). The Reds polished off Barry Bonds and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series. Looking ahead to the Fall Classic, were they overmatched?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Their best player was Eric Davis, who was (At least for a time) a great overall player. The slugger had gotten three Gold Gloves in centre field. He'd hit 34 home runs and driven in 101 runs in 1989.
The problem was, in 1990, Davis came down a bit. He hit only .260, and his HR and RBI were down. Eric was still a feared slugger, but if you hit .174 in the NLCS, is Oakland gonna be worried about you? There still was his prowess as a slugger.
Eric wasn't alone with the big bat. Chris Sabo, at third base, hit 25 home runs. Paul O'Neill, future Yankee star, hit 16 home runs in right field. Billy Hatcher had only five home runs, but hit .276. The completed the outfield.
So Hatcher led the entire outfield in batting average. And he'd had some great postseason experience. His old team, Houston, had extended the 1986 New York Mets to six games in the NLCS. Four years later, Billy hit .333 with a home run at that same stage vs. Pittsburgh.
Maybe the biggest obstacle Cincy was facing was the pitching of Oakland. Sure, they still had guys like Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, plus they'd added Ricky Henderson. But what about Dave Stewart? He'd won 20 games again in 1990, plus no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays that season. The no-hitter may have been his first. But the 20 wins? Fourth straight season for Stew.
So Stewart went up against Jose Rijo in the opening tilt. Jose was quite a pitcher. Though he'd struggled with the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics, he was back to torment one of his old teams. It seemed as though Rijo might be a better pitcher than Dave Stewart. Since arriving in Cincinnati, his earned run average was below three for six consecutive seasons. Sort of a bit like J.R. Richard, his career got derailed right when he was in his prime, sadly. But, no matter what he'd do the rest of his career, Jose's 1990 World Series performance was one for the ages.
First, Rijo went out and whipped Dave Stewart 7-0 in game one. That 4.38 earned run average in the NLCS quickly gave way to a superb outing in the big showdown, eh?
With Billy Hatcher on (via a bases on balls) in the bottom of the first inning, it was Eric Davis that provided Jose Rijo with all the offence he'd need. A two-run home run. Hatcher was going to have a big night.
In the third, he doubled home Billy Larkin, going to third on the throw home. Then Hatcher scored on a Paul O'Neill grounder. 4-0.
Count on Hatcher again to help in the fifth. Dave Steward had been removed for a pinch hitter in the top of the inning. The new pitcher was Todd Burns. So, after Barry Larkin was retired, it was Billy Hatcher with another hit, a double that hugged the left-field line. Paul O'Neill walked. Eric Davis was back up. He stroked a single to left. 5-0 for the home team.
Hal Morris then grounded out, but both runners advanced. The game was now essentially over, but there remained two questions: How many runs would Cincinnati score? Could Rijo pitch the shutout?
Well, Chris Sabo singled home two more runs, and that concluded the scoring in this opening tilt. However, the Reds tried for more as Joe Oliver got himself a two-out single. Sabo made it to third. But with runners on the corners, Oakland brought in a new pitcher, who did the job. Gene Nelson faced Mariano Duncan. With the count 2-0, Duncan got a hold of one and sent it to left. But instead of scoring two more runs, all that happened was Ricky Henderson made a catch, almost with his back to the fence.
Rijo himself had some issues in the fifth. Oakland had loaded the bases with two away. In perhaps the biggest moment of the game (Or the series), it was Jose retiring big Mark McGwire on a popup to end the threat. By the way, it had been Doug Jennings who hit for Dave Stewart, delivering a single. Not only did this not lead to any runs, but it was a big plus for Cincinnati to get Stewart out of the game. A bit of Oakland's aura left with Dave Stewart.
Rijo himself found other ways to contribute. Just as Orel Hershiser had two yeas earlier against the Athletics, the Reds' ace pitcher was using his bat, too. He singled on the first pitch in the bottom of the sixth. However, a double play followed. Billy Hatcher was still hitting hot. So far, two hits, a walk, and three runs scored. Billy fell behind 1-2, fouled off two pitches, and then hit it down the third base line. Carney Lansford came up with it some how. No matter, Hatcher made it three hits as he beat the throw to first.
Paul O'Neill walked to keep the rally going. Eric Davis had two on with two out. He'd delivered the big blow earlier in the first frame, with two away. This time, he failed to deliver. It really didn't matter. Jose Rijo had pitched seven shutout frames, went 1-3 at the dish, and Cincinnati had first blood.
Game two was closer. Oakland wasted no time in scoring in the top of the first, but the defiant Cincinnati team erased that with two of their own in their half.
After Barry Larkin led off with a double, there was Billy Hatcher back up. Continuing on his fine play in this Fall Classic, Billy again came through. Again with two strikes on him. Hatcher went down the first base line this time, the ball sliced to right. But this ended up being a run-scoring double. Hatcher was up to three doubles already.
The next two batters did not get hits, but they produced a run. Paul O'Neill flied out, Hatcher made it to third. Eric Davis grounded out, but it cashed in Billy, and the Reds had the lead.
Oakland might have been discouraged, but they pushed across three runs to take care of that trouble in the top of the third. It seemed like only a momentary solution, however, as Billy Larkin led off the bottom of the inning. He had Hatcher behind him, so getting on could mean a big inning.
Well, it was Larkin with a single. Hatcher then, you guessed it, hit a double. It was just a ground-rule two-bagger to the gap in left, alas. So Larkin had to stop at third. The rally died, alas.
The next inning was a better one for Cincinnati. They scored a run, and had a man at second for Larkin. Just get on! No, Barry grounded out.
So Billy Hatcher would lead off the bottom of the fifth. There would be no double this time, but this at bat illustrated how things were going to keep going Billy's way. He bunted, the ball hitting the ground hard and going to the left side of the infield. Well, Hatcher was safe at first. Six consecutive hits. This tied a World Series record, previously held by only Goose Goslin and Thurmond Munson. Hatcher would leave those two names in the rearview mirror before the night came to an end.
But, nobody is perfect. Bob Welch had given up three runs so far. But the fifth inning came to a quick end as he picked off Billy Hatcher at first. That was the second out. Eric Davis was the third.
Welch was still pitching in the bottom of the eighth, and the score was still 4-3, Oakland. But here's where Billy Hatcher did one better than Goslin and Munson. Actually, Hatcher did better than double. He stoked a leadoff triple. Jose Canseco, trying to play through an injured back, had made a valiant effort to catch the ball, but had gotten a late start on it. Jose merely got a piece of it.
A walk to Paul O'Neill and the Reds suddenly had the go-ahead run at first. They wouldn't get that runner home, but Glenn Braggs' clutch single off new pitcher Rick Honeycutt tied the ballgame.
Cincinnati was buoyed by Hatcher's heroics. They even looked poised to win the contest in the bottom of the ninth (Reliever Rob Dibble had gotten held Oakland scoreless in the top of the inning). Billy Hatcher and his teammates sensed victory.
Two quick outs seemed to put out any of those thoughts, the second on a fine catch by Ricky Henderson in left. But Barry Larkin was back up, and singled. Billy Hatcher was back up! Barry Larkin was thinking about getting into scoring position. Oakland tried to keep him close. On a toss to first, the result was an error by first basemen Mark McGwire, and the winning run now at second.
Now, in a way, Billy Hatcher had a shot at hitting for the record. Or collecting his fifth hit on the contest. The Athletics, however, wisely walked him. Dennis Eckersley, who normally only came in to close a game, started throwing. He would not appear in this inning, however, as Paul O'Neill was a left-handed hitter. Tony La Russa, the Oakland manager, let Rick Honeycutt stay in, to keep it a lefty-lefty matchup. O'Neill gave it a ride to centre, but Dave Henderson had it.
Rob Dibble held the A's scoreless in the top of the tenth. Eric Davis faced Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the inning and grounded out. However, this was the last out Oakland got. Three straight singles won the game for the Reds!
It was on to Oakland for games three, four and possibly five. The first contest there was crucial.
The A's sure knew this. They were looking to get back in the series. Cincinnati was trying to put a stranglehold on it, and stuck quickly. They knew that it was Rijo and Stewart II in the fourth contest. A win here and Jose Rijo could put an end to this thing in game four.
Barry Larkin led off the game with a single. Oakland was in trouble right off the bat! Guess who was next? Why Billy Hatcher. Hatcher actually did something bad: He hit into a 6-4-3 double play! Paul O'Neill and Eric Davis followed with singles in an inning that ended with no scoring, so the twin-killing by the Athletics was huge.
But then, Chris Sabo got a big hit by the Reds in the top of the second. A four-bagger. The home run broke the ice, but seemed to wake up the A's. Their bats had been cold in the first contest, better in the second, and still greater here in the early going.
Harold Baines smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame, and Oakland was up, 2-1. But rather than set the tone, this long ball seemed to wake up Cincinnati.
With one away in the third, Billy Hatcher was back up. His single ignited the biggest inning in the 1990 World Series. After Paul O'Neill reached on an error, it was Eric Davis with a game-tying single. The Reds never looked back. Chris Sabo's three-run home run highlighted a seven-run third for Cincinnati. Billy Hatcher grounded out to end it, but his team was up 8-3.
The Athletics actually came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. Ricky Henderson hit a home run. It was only a solo shot. Tom Browning had given up three runs in just two-plus innings, but settled down. His team didn't exactly put their bats away.
In fact, Chris Sabo was looking to make it three home runs in three plate appearances. In the top of the fourth, he came up with two men on and just one out. He gave it quite a ride to centre, a bit to the right. Dave Henderson made the catch, and Paul O'Neill tagged. He motored on to third, putting runners on the corners. The Reds, however, did not score.
Hatcher was retired again in the fifth inning, but it actually was the last time Oakland would do that. In the eighth, the Reds' centre fielder kept the inning alive for Cincinnati by singling. Paul O'Neill was up, and Oakland pitcher Todd Burns threw a wild pitch. O'Neill walked, which gave Eric Davis a chance to widened the lead more. There'd been no scoring in this contest since the third inning. But all Davis could do was ground out to end that.
Cincinnati ended up with an impressive 8-3 win. But Billy Hatcher had a bad game. The nerve of him to get retire three times! How would that carry over to the fourth game?
Dave Stewart wasn't the type of pitcher that looked at a 3-0 deficit and decide to not care. No, today Cincinnati would see the real Dave Stewart.
Dave Henderson went a little to right to take Barry Larkin's fly. That was the first out of the ballgame. But next was Billy Hatcher. 9-12 at the dish with two walks. That's a batting average of .750 and an on-base percentage of .786.
The first pitch was at the letters, maybe higher. Home plate umpire Ted Hendry called it a strike. Hatcher realized with different umps comes different strike zones. He fouled off the next pitch, and was in a hole, 0-2.
Well, Hatcher got on again, but the painful way. Stewart hit him on the left hand. Hatcher stayed in the game, but didn't help. He was caught stealing. You don't want to make things too easy for Stewart.
Momentum was quickly Oakland's, and it would stay that way for a while. Cincinnati couldn't catch a break. The Reds put a "0" on the board in the top of the first, but the A's put a "1" on in their half.
And the way they did it hurt Cincinnati. Eric Davis caught Ricky Henderson's fly in left for the first out. But then things turned bad. Willie McGee hit one to the gap in left. Davis tried to catch it, but his attempt at a diving catch resulting in an injury. Just like that, two of the big reasons for a 3-0 series lead were walking wounded in the fourth contest. It was the bottom of the first inning.
Eric Davis had damaged his rib cage and additionally suffered a kidney laceration. That 1-0 lead at the end of just one frame was looking big.
Glenn Braggs batted for him in the top of the second, but Stewart got him. Herm Winningham would replace Billy Hatcher in the bottom of the inning. The Reds would have to either win it here the hard way, or come back in one of the three remaining games and get it done. As it turns out, Eric Davis was done for the series. Hatcher's injury was just day-to-day, should the Fall Classic continue.
Oakland looked poised for the knockout blow against Jose Rijo, as they got two men on. The A's would ultimately fail to score. The Reds were still very much in the ballgame, but Dave Stewart looked so poised.
Chris Sabo had a single in the top of the second, and another three innings later. In the top of the seventh, he doubled. None of his hits led to any scoring, and Dave Stewart allowed only two other hits by Cincinnati.
So the score was still 1-0 for the home team after seven. But Jose Rijo was matching Stewart. Or, in terms of his allowed, besting him. Oakland got two hits that led to their run in the first. They did not get another the rest of the contest.
And in the eighth, the opening the Reds were looking for, arrived. Barry Larkin and Herm Winningham (Who ended the game 2-3, not bad as Hatcher's replacement) opened it with singles. Winningham's single was a surprising two-strike bunt, which caught the Athletics off-guard. Paul O'Neill himself bunted, trying to move both runners over. The A's bullpen got going. Rick Honeycutt (Who'd worked 1 2/3 innings in this series) and Dennis Eckersley started to loosen up.
Dave Stewart was pitching great, but his fielding let him down here. Stewart picked up the ball and went to Willie Randolph covering first. The pitcher's peg to first was off the mark, so when Randolph caught it, the Oakland second basemen went from covering first, to off the bag. Well, that's how first base umpire Randy Marsh saw it. Replays show that while Dave Stewart's throw was a tad wide, Willie Randolph's foot was on the bag when he put the squeeze on the ball. The play was crucial, as now Cincinnati had the bases loaded with no outs, instead of second and third, one away. (Tony La Russa argued, in futility) Of course, this also meant there was a force at second, third and home. The A's could take advantage of that. They could concede the run, but two ground balls and the inning would be over with no more than one run across for the victors.
Glenn Braggs hit into that force. At second. But Larkin scored the tying run. So with runners now on the corners in this 1-1 contest, Hal Morris was up. Morris sent a fly to Willie McGee that was deep enough to score Herm Winningham! The visiting Reds were up, 2-1.
Rijo, his spirits no doubt heightened, raced through the home team 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame. The MVP trophy beckoned. Dave Stewart, fighting to the end, retired the Reds in order in the top of the ninth. He'd pitched brilliantly.
But Jose Rijo fanned Dave Henderson to start the last of the ninth, and Dave Stewart and his teammates were two outs away from a loss. A sweep! Rijo, however, would once again be denied the opportunity to finish the game. Randy Myers, looking for his fourth save of the 1990 postseason, was summoned from the Reds' bullpen to put the finishing touches on the baseball season.
Jose Caneco grounded out. Two away. Billy Hatcher had donned a neato t-shirt in the Reds' dugout, having returned from the hospital (X-rays revealed a bad bruise, but no breaks). He watched as Carney Lansford popped it up foul. But it did not find the seats. Todd Benzinger caught it very close to the Cincinnati bullpen. Their relivers, who'd been excellent all series' long, caught a close view to the last out of this surprising Fall Classic.
But that bullpen would have to take a backseat to Billy Hatcher, Eric Davis, and Jose Rijo.
References
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Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball 1992. St. Martin's Press, 1992.
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