The 1989 Oakland A's | Season In Review

The Oakland As of 1989 made their appearance in the World Series for the first time since 1974 when the Swingin' A's was in their peak and zenith of their powers winning 3 consecutive World Series championships from 1972-1974.

After that successful reign, the Oakland A's fell on hard times with the defections of Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter playing for other teams during the duration of the 70s. The Oakland A's had to revive themselves back to prominence as a title contender. In 1981, the A's would win the American League Western Division Title but wasn’t able to win the American League pennant because they were swept by the eventual American League champion The New York Yankees in 3 games. Fast Forward to the mid part of the 80s such as 1986, there were major changes within The Oakland A's organization in terms of a new generation of talent coming from the farm system like Jose Conseco and Mark McGwire who would be the future cornerstone of a dynastic type of run into the late 80s to the early 90s including a new manager in Tony La Russa.

In 1986 the Oakland A's finished with a 76-86 record then in 1987, they finished at .500 with a 81-81 record where Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs as a rookie. But the dynastic run of being a perennial contender for the World Series in years began in 1988 when the As were loaded with immense and abundance of talent. The talent was obviously led by Jose Conseco and Mark McGwire; plus Dave Parker, Carney Langsford, Terry Steinbach ,Dave Henderson and pitchers like Dave Stewart and closer Dennis Eckersley. This As team was a dynamic machine winning 104 games and only 58 losses. Also, winning their first division title in 7 years since 1981.

Jose Conseco was breaking new ground with being the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season: 42 home runs and 124 RBIs. The Oakland A's won the American League pennant by sweeping the Boston Red Sox:4-0 to set up an All California World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But looked like a foregone conclusion beating the Dodgers that wasn’t the case as in Game 1 Kirk Gibson hit a legendary pitch hit home run against Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the 9th to win Game 1:5-4.

Unfortunately, the A's would lose the series: 4-1 in 5 games and being on the wrong side of baseball history as one of the greatest teams not to win a World Series because they were heavily favored against the Dodgers but instead lost the World Series to the Dodgers. Then 1989 rolls around obviously the final year of the 1980s as the Oakland A's had to find a way to bounce back to redeem themselves and capture a World Series championship since 1974. The main addition and acquisition that paid dividends was Rickey Henderson who actually started his professional baseball career with the Oakland A's so Henderson was in familiar territory coming back to his stomping grounds of where it all began. The 1989 Oakland As won 99 games and lost 63.

Pitcher Dave Stewart was able to win 20 or more games for the 3rd consecutive season. Rickey Henderson was impactful in the postseason against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS winning the MVP of the ALCS. The moment of truth came in the 1989 World Series which was another All California World Series by the Bay in the Bay Area this time around it was the San Francisco Giants plus this World Series would go down in infamy as the Earth Quake World Series due to the Earthquake that happened prior to Game 3. The As redeemed themselves and won in a sweep as pitcher Dave Stewart won MVP of the World Series.

Now moving forward would the A's repeat as World Series champions in the beginning of a new decade: the 90s? In 1990 the Oakland As would return to the World Series for the 3rd consecutive season but get swept by the Cinderella like Cincinnati Reds in 4 games: 4-0.

The Oakland As of 1990 would once again be on the wrong side of baseball history being one of the greatest teams ever to not win a World Series because the A's in 1990 won 103 games and lost 59 games. This was a dominant As team but didn’t win it all leaving behind what could have been because this team should have won 3 consecutive World Series championships like the Swingin' A's of 1972-1974 but failed to cash in and only settling for 1 championship in 1989 which was the year of redemption for the 1989 Oakland A's.