The Great 1989 A's
Oakland Was Dominant During the Season and in October
They were one of the greatest, most dominant World Champions since World War II, yet they are almost never mentioned when outstanding teams are discussed.
They were one of the greatest, most dominant World Champions since World War II, yet they are almost never mentioned when outstanding teams are discussed. The 1989 Oakland A's won the Western Division by 7 games over Kansas City, defeated Toronto in five games in the playoffs, and swept San Francisco in the World Series. They scored "only" 712 runs, which is not considered much in today's game of arena baseball, but it was fourth best in the 1989 American League. The A's led the league with a 3.09 ERA, which would be an amazing number today.
McGwire, Canseco, Parker, and Henderson Were Offensive Leaders
Carney Lansford led the offense with his .336 average, but since it has been discovered that the ratio of hits to at bats is a highly overrated, almost irrelevant statistic, and Lansford hit only 2 home runs, perhaps it should be concluded that Mark McGwire, Dave Parker, Jose Canseco (who missed one half the season due to a broken bone in his hand), and Rickey Henderson, whose services were acquired in June from New York, were the offensive leaders. McGwire blasted 33 home runs while batting .231, Parker hit 22 home runs with a .264 average, Canseco hit his 17 home runs in the second half of the season, and Rickey stole 52 bases while batting .294.
Jose Dominated Baseball
Canseco was dominant. He was Rookie of the Year in 1986, he was the first Oakland player to put together back to back 100 RBI seasons, he hit 30 or more home runs for three consecutive seasons, and easily won the 1988 MVP, hitting .307 with 42 home runs while becoming the first player to hit at least 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. The fans, who are the best judges of talent, voted Jose to the 1989 American League All-Star Team, despite the fact he hadn't played in single game the first half of the year. Oakland management agreed with the fans' when they gave him the most lucrative contract in history in 1990.
Solid Pitching
The A's pitching staff was led by 21-9 Dave Stewart, 19 game winner Mike Moore, and 17 game winner Bob Welch. Storm Davis won 19 games, but that was an anomaly which merely illustrates that won-lost record is often not highly correlated to pitching effectiveness. The closer was Dennis Eckersley.
A No-Contest World Series Interrupted
The World Series against San Francisco was hardly a contest. The A's won the first game, 5-0 behind Dave Stewart and won the next game, 5-1 behind Mike Moore. The Series shifted to San Francisco but was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. The game was suspended and the Series did not resume for ten days, when the A's continued their onslaught, winning Games 3 and 4 handily. Stewart was the Series MVP, Canseco hit .357 with a home run, and the Giants were held to a .209 team batting average.
The Best Team of the 1980s?
The 1989 A's were the first team to sweep a World Series since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. They were the best team of the 1980s, with the possible exception of the 1984 Tigers, but a pedestrian San Diego team managed to win a World Series game against the Tigers. The 1986 Red Sox were a great team on paper, but as the Mets proved, the game is played on the field and it still requires a third strike or a third out to end a game.
Canseco, McGwire, and Henderson Performed at Hall of Fame Levels
Some in the media have concluded that Canseco, McGwire, Henderson, Parker, and Stewart are not the most friendly of individuals, but the fact remains that all have contributed greatly to the game. Canseco, McGwire, and Henderson performances were at Hall of Fame levels. They were an integral part of one of the greatest teams that deserves the respect it has earned.
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