The 1988 World Series brings a lot of different words from A’s fans who lived to see it all. The words you most often hear are usually along the lines of “disappointing” and “shocking”. Most of these words are brought up because of the vivid memory of Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run on one leg in game 1. For those who aren't familiar, the A’s were the heavy favorites going into the 1988 World Series, because the A’s were absolutely dominant in the regular season winning 104 games with a well-rounded team full of rising stars like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. This combined with the Dodgers losing their star slugger, Kirk Gibson, presumably for the entire World Series made the A’s a safe bet. Little did the A’s know, Kirk Gibson would end up playing a large role in the fall classic as early as game 1.
The A’s had a 4-3 lead heading into the 9th inning with their Hall of Fame closer, Dennis Eckersley coming into save the game like he had done so many times that season. Long story short, Gibson would limp into the on deck circle and somehow, on one leg, he drove a backdoor slider into the right field bleachers for a walk-off home run that has now been replayed at least 100 times every single October.
The rest of the games during this series are often forgotten, the common thought is that Kirk Gibson’s walk-off inspired the Dodgers and sunk the A’s as a result. Game 2 went the way of Dodgers as well, thanks to a complete game shutout from Dodgers starting pitcher, Orel Hershiser. The A’s were heading back to Oakland in a 2-0 hole, and needed a change in momentum with their backs against the wall.
We continue our "25 Greatest A's Wins" weekly countdown with win #22, and a return to Tuesday, October 18, 1988 for Game 3 of the World Series for a October Bash!
We continue our "25 Greatest A's Wins" weekly countdown with win #22, and a return to Tuesday, October 18, 1988 for Game 3 of the World Series for a October Bash!
On the mound for the A’s was that night was the recently deceased, Bob Welch. RIP! Welch would be facing his former team in Game 3 as the Los Angeles Dodgers had traded him the previous offseason for shortstop, Alfredo Griffin. Welch would face Griffin two times in the night, striking him out in the first at bat, and retiring him on a sacrifice bunt in the second at bat. Welch had been a big part of Dodgers folk lore during his 10 seasons with the Dodgers, including this legendary battle with Reggie Jackson in the 1978 World Series seen here. He’d win a ring with the Dodgers in 1981, though in the game he started, he was removed in the first inning without recording a single out. You can see it here!
In this game 3 of the World Series, Welch would pitch well but throw too many pitches, as he was removed in the top of the 6th. Welsh struck out eight, walked three, and only gave up one run. It would be a battle of the bullpens, with Dodgers starter, John Tudor leaving in the bottom of the second inning due to an injury which would end John Tudor’s career, unfortunately. After Welch’s departure it was a 1-1 game, with the A's only run coming from Ron Hassey’s RBI single in the 3rd. For the Dodgers, their run came from a 2-out RBI double from Franklin Stubbs.
In the top of the 6th, Welch had departed with the bases loaded and no one out. A’s manager, Tony La Russa, who’s known by many as the Father of the Modern Day Bullpen showed why in this inning. La Russa looked to the lefty and long reliever, Greg Cadaret to get the first out. Facing current Angels manager and lefty, Mike Scioscia, Cadaret needed only two pitches to get Scioscia to foul out, one out.
La Russa then took the ball from Cadaret and brought in the magician, Gene Nelson. Nelson was known for getting his team out of these kind of jams and is one of the unsung heroes of the great A’s teams of the late 80s. Facing Jeff Hamilton, righty on righty, Nelson himself only needed two pitches to induce a weak ground ball. The A’s third baseman, Carney Lansford took the ground ball and tossed it to catcher, Ron Hassey to complete the second out of the inning. The A’s were one out away from getting out of a bases loaded and no outs jam.
With two outs the A’s put the infield back to medium depth with Alfredo Griffin coming to the plate. Griffin would only last two pitches before weakly grounding out to Mark McGwire who stepped on the bag and completed the total Houdini - keeping the score at 1-1, and saving the A’s in this series in all likelihood. This mixing and matching of relief pitchers would become a staple of Tony La Russa’s style, much to the dismay of fans who wanted to get the game over before the 3 hour mark, but no one could deny its effectiveness.
La Russa then took the ball from Cadaret and brought in the magician, Gene Nelson. Nelson was known for getting his team out of these kind of jams and is one of the unsung heroes of the great A’s teams of the late 80s. Facing Jeff Hamilton, righty on righty, Nelson himself only needed two pitches to induce a weak ground ball. The A’s third baseman, Carney Lansford took the ground ball and tossed it to catcher, Ron Hassey to complete the second out of the inning. The A’s were one out away from getting out of a bases loaded and no outs jam.
With two outs the A’s put the infield back to medium depth with Alfredo Griffin coming to the plate. Griffin would only last two pitches before weakly grounding out to Mark McGwire who stepped on the bag and completed the total Houdini - keeping the score at 1-1, and saving the A’s in this series in all likelihood. This mixing and matching of relief pitchers would become a staple of Tony La Russa’s style, much to the dismay of fans who wanted to get the game over before the 3 hour mark, but no one could deny its effectiveness.
For the Dodgers, their manager Tommy Lasorda probably didn’t realize this but due to the injury of his starter, he lucked into the effectiveness of using multiple pitchers in short spurts. MLB Network’s Brian Kenny will tell you how effective this can be, because of how statistics show that hitters struggle the first time they see a pitcher, and by the third time, they hit the pitcher very well since hitters will have made the adjustments by then. Lasorda used Tim Leary for 3.2 IP, he only gave up one earned run, then Lasorda brought in Alejandro Pena who gave the Dodgers 3 innings of shutout ball. I’m sure Brian Kenny has studied this game many times dreaming of more games like this.
Gene Nelson would give the A’s one more inning of relief. Nelson worked around one 2-out double and completed the 7th with no runners coming across the plate. Once again, the score was still 1-1. In the 8th, Rick Honeycutt (the former Dodger at that time, and current Dodgers pitching coach) was the A’s setup man and would take his usual role after Gene Nelson gave up a leadoff single to the switch-hitting, John Shelby. Honeycutt was a lefty who really didn’t care what side of the plate you hit from. This was clear as Lasorda pinch hit for Mike Davis with right-hander, Dave Anderson. Dave Anderson would strikeout swinging on 5 pitches. Then Honeycutt faced lefty Mike Scioscia, and just like Scioscia had done in his last at bat, he fouled out to the third baseman, Carney Lansford. Jeff Hamilton was next up. Honeycutt faced little resistance and Hamilton struck out swinging. Honeycutt looked masterful against his former team.
With the A’s continuing to struggle against Alejandro Pena, La Russa decided to keep with the hot hand of Honeycutt and let him pitch the top of the 9th and hold off from putting in Dennis Eckersley. Honeycutt would need to keep it scoreless, especially with the Bash Brothers coming up in the bottom of the 9th. Honeycutt would face Alfredo Griffin, Steve Sax, and Tracy Woodson. He retired all three in order (with Griffin curiously striking out from a bunt foul ball with two strikes). Honeycutt’s night was sensational, and while usually everyone wants to talk about Eckersley, Honeycutt’s value cannot be understated.
Now came the bottom of the 9th inning. With the A’s dangerous part of the order coming up, Lasorda decided to bring in his closer, Jay Howell. Jay Howell has no relation to current Dodgers reliever, J.P. Howell but he does have quite a story connected to him. Jay Howell was part of the trade in the offseason between the A’s and the Dodgers with Alfredo Griffin and Howell going to the Dodgers for Matt Young and Bob Welch. Howell would spend three seasons with the A’s from 1985-1987 and in that time he made two all-star games. The Dodgers immediately made him their closer and recorded 21 saves to go along with 38 games finished for the Dodgers in 1988. In the 1988 NLCS, there was a bit of controversy involving Howell. In game 3 against the Mets, Howell came into the game and the umpire noticed a substance on his glove. It turned out it was pine tar, and the umpire went onto eject Howell from the game as the Dodgers would go onto lose that game. MLB suspended Howell for three games, but the Dodgers were able to win the pennant without him and still get to the World Series. This night would be his first time pitching since the pine tar incident.
Howell would face the 1988 AL MVP, Jose Canseco for the first batter of the inning. Swinging at the first pitch, Canseco would hit a pop fly to the second baseman for the first out of the inning. Then came Canseco’s fellow bash brother, Mark McGwire. An 8 pitch at bat would ensue between the two, but it would be Mark McGwire who’d win the day. With a 2-2 count, Howell threw McGwire a high fastball on the inner half of the plate and the former USC Trojans star crushed it! The ball flew like a line drive that never showed signs of dying until it was over the fence in left-center, and as a result sent the Coliseum into a frenzy with Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” coming on in the background. The A's win!!!
The legendary Vin Scully is on the call and he captures the moment brilliantly. Notice how many bashes McGwire does as he crosses home plate, I don’t think there’s ever been a scenario where someone has done that many bashes in a 60 second interval since then. Watch it here...
It was only the second postseason walk-off home run in Oakland A’s postseason history (more on the other walk-off later). A’s fans thought that McGwire’s blast was just what they needed to turn the tide in the series. And on the surface, it certainly looked like it was just what the doctor ordered! Sadly, the A’s would not be able to capitalize on it. The next night, the A’s would fall short in a 4-3 game. Howell would face McGwire once again in the 7th but this time Howell won the battle as McGwire hit an infield fly. Howell would throw 2.1 IP to earn the save and make the series 3-1.
In game 5, Orel Hershiser would completely own the A’s in the 5-2 clincher, throwing another complete game. Orel Hershiser, in my opinion, deserves a lot more credit for helping the Dodgers win the 1988 World Series. In the NLCS, Hershiser threw 8 innings in game one, 7 innings in game 3, he picked up the save in game 4, and on two days rest, Hershiser pitched a complete game shutout in the deciding game 7 to send the Dodgers to the World Series. In the World Series, Hershiser threw a complete game shutout in game two, and a complete game in the clinching game 5. In total, he threw 42.2 IP (keep in mind, there were only two rounds back then, no division series) with 32 SO, and a 1.07 ERA during the entire 1988 Postseason. In the season, he threw 15 complete games and rightfully won the NL Cy Young Award. You think Giants' Madison Bumgarner’s performance was epic? Orel Hershiser put the Dodgers on his back and rightfully won the MVP in both the World Series and the NLCS.
Just had to give respect to a man who hasn’t received as much respect as he should due to Kirk Gibson’s heroic performance. Mark McGwire’s walk-off homer was one that provided hope in the series, but would stand alone, as one may question this game’s placement on this list. I’ll leave that up to you guys, since this list is not supposed to end debates, but merely continue them.
Next week Win #21. Stay tuned!
-- Wes
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