CALIFORNIA, USA — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…October 20, 1988:
Riding the momentum of historic Game 1 drama, the Los Angeles Dodgers finish off the heavily-favored Oakland A’s 5-2 to win the World Series in five games. Because of Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 walk-off home run, pitcher Orel Hershiser was overshadowed in this Series. But Hershiser was the MVP after going the distance in the decisive Game 5 and shutting out Oakland in Game 2. Hershiser was also MVP in the National League Championship Series and was coming off a regular season that saw him win the Cy Young Award with 23 wins and an MLB-record 59-inning scoreless streak. That came during a stretch that saw Hershiser record five straight shutouts.
The A’s never recovered from the legendary two-run homer by Gibson off star closer Dennis Eckersley with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in the Series opener. Gibson wasn’t expected to play, as he was hobbled by injuries to his left hamstring and right knee, but manager Tommy Lasorda summoned him as a pinch-hitter nevertheless. It’s the iconic scene of Gibson limping around the bases that has stood the test of time. Gibson wouldn’t play the rest of the Series.
The Dodgers were the only team in the 1980s to win two World Series. They wouldn’t capture another one until the COVID year in 2020. The A’s would go on to play in the next two World Series—sweeping the cross-bay rival San Francisco Giants in 1989 and being swept in turn by the Cincinnati Reds in 1990. The A’s have been good over the years despite being at or near the bottom in payroll in the majors. The “Billy Ball” era 20 years ago was only part of the story. As recently as two years ago, Oakland was 86-76 and had strung together four straight winning seasons. Three of them ended in the playoffs.
The A’s of today have been gutted by the negligence of their owner, John Fisher, as he traded most of the team’s best players and let the rest leave via free agency. The result was a 50-112 record this year and abysmal attendance (as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum crumbled), allowing Fisher to say, “See? I have to move the franchise to Las Vegas.” The “Sell The Team” faction in the Bay Area is loud, and it’s not going to give up.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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