In 1988, the World Series Championship was transformed into a "California Classic" as the Los Angeles Dodgers went up against the neighboring Oakland Athletics. Los Angeles had benefited from the amazing arm of Orel Hershiser who had ended the regular season with a record-breaking fifty-nine consecutive scoreless innings as well as one win and one save in the National League Championship Series. Oakland boasted their own ace in Dave Stewart who had won twenty-one games during the A's quest for the American League pennant (which they won by a thirteen game margin before sweeping the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs). Although relatively equal on the mound, the A's held a slight advantage at the plate after assembling the "Dynamic Duo" of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire who combined for seventy-four home runs and two-hundred twenty-three runs batted in during the regular season. With such evenly-matched teams the Series proposed to go seven, but many experts would be surprised by the sudden outcome of the West Coast vs. West Coast affair.
Manager Tom Lasorda went with Tim Belcher in place of Hershiser for Game 1 choosing to save the right-handed ace for another day. Although he got off to a rough start, the rookie managed to work his way out of loading the bases in the first. After his teammates tagged Stewart for the 2-0 lead, Belcher repeated his folly by loading the bases again in the second. This time he wasn't as lucky as Canseco brought them all home with the fifteenth grand slam in World Series history. LA's bullpen got the call early and held Oakland at bay for the remaining innings, but the damage had already been done. The Dodgers line-up crept within 4-3 in the sixth, but still trailed by one in the bottom of the ninth with no one on. With the A's ace reliever, Dennis Eckersley (forty-five saves) on the mound Oakland figured it was over, but the resilient Dodgers weren't going down without a fight. Pinch-hitter Mike Davis managed to force a walk, but Lasorda sent in a crippled Kirk Gibson to bat for their reliever Alejandro Pena. At first, the decision appeared completely irrational, but somehow the outfielder worked past his pain and launched a bleacher blast (with a 3-2 count) for the game winning run. It was the first time a World Series game had ever been won on a come-from-behind home run in the last inning and the fact that Gibson could hold his stance, let alone swing the bat made the blast even more amazing.
Hershiser finally got his chance in Game 2 and following Gibson's inspirational lead. The Dodgers' twenty-three game winner went three-for-three at the plate and tossed a three hit masterpiece that was supported by Mike Marshall's three run homer for the 6-0 triumph. As the contest moved to Oakland, the Athletics were determined to get back in the race on the bats of McGwire and Canseco. After going 0-9 in the first two outings, "Big Mac" finally connected and broke a 1-1 tie in Game 3 with a ninth-inning homer off Los Angeles reliever Jay Howell. The controversial closer had been suspended during the championship series for using pine tar in his glove and the last-minute loss did nothing for his fading reputation. He would have his revenge the following day though as he found himself facing McGwire again in a bases-loaded mess with two out in the seventh. This time, it would be the pitcher who prevailed as he induced the future home run champ to fly-out for the 4-3 final.
Now up three games to one, the Dodgers prepared to finish their rivals in Game 5. Hershiser returned and maintained his perfect record with a brilliant four hit effort that was sweetened by nine strike outs. Mickey Hatcher set the pace for the Dodgers with a two-run shot off of A's starter Storm Davis in the first inning. The unlikely hero (who had managed one home run during the regular season) would finish the Series with two homers and a leading .368 average proving the old adage "better late than never". Another Davis, ("Mike" of the Dodgers that is...) came up huge while playing the unfamiliar role of designated hitter. Benefiting from the American League ballpark rule that allowed for a DH on both sides, the LA slugger drilled a two-run homer in the fourth en route to a 5-2 Dodger victory that wrapped up their seventh championship and sixth World Series crown.
"I think anybody who signs Orel Hershiser will be pleased with the whole package. He's one of the classiest, team-oriented players I've ever been around." - Colletti, Ned. San Francisco Giants Assistant General Manager.
1988 World Series1988 World Series Official Logo ← 1987 | Los Angeles Dodgers (4) vs Oakland Athletics (1) | 1989 → |
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1988 World Series Fast Facts | |||
Game 1 | Date | Box Score | 10-15-1988 | |
Location | Dodger Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Nancy Reagan (First Lady) | Mike Scioscia | ||
Attendance | 55,983 | ||
National Anthem | Debbie Gibson (Pop Singer) | ||
Game 2 | Date | Box Score | 10-16-1988 | |
Location | Dodger Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Orel L. Hershiser III (Father of Orel Hershiser) | Mike Scioscia | ||
Mildred I. Gillman-Hershiser (Mother of Orel Hershiser) | Rick Dempsey | ||
Attendance | 56,051 | ||
National Anthem | Take 6 (An A Cappella Gospel Sextet) | ||
Game 3 | Date | Box Score | 10-18-1988 | |
Location | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Walter A. Haas, Jr. (Oakland Athletics owner, 1980-95) | Ron Hassey | ||
Attendance | 49,316 | ||
National Anthem | Maureen McGovern (Singer / Broadway Actress) | ||
Game 4 | Date | Box Score | 10-19-1988 | |
Location | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Mark Marquess (Stanford Coach / US Olympic Coach) | Undetermined | ||
Attendance | 49,317 | ||
National Anthem | Peter Cetera (Singer / Bass Guitar Player / Formerly with Chicago) | ||
Game 5 | Date | Box Score | 10-20-1988 | |
Location | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Rollie Fingers | Undetermined | ||
Reggie Jackson | Undetermined | ||
Gene Tenace | Undetermined | ||
Attendance | 49,317 | ||
1988 World Series | |||
1988 World Series History | Research by Baseball Almanac |
Game 1 of the 1988 World Series1988 World Series Official Program Line Score | Box Score |
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1988 World Series Game 1 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Oakland | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
Los Angeles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
Oakland Pitcher(s) | Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Dave Stewart Dennis Eckersley (L, 9th) - - |
Tim Belcher Tim Leary (3rd) Brian Holton (6th) Alejandro Pena (W, 8th) |
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Oakland Home Runs | Los Angeles Home Runs | |||||||||||
Jose Canseco (2nd) - |
Mickey Hatcher (1st) Kirk Gibson (9th) |
Game 2 of the 1988 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1988 World Series Game 2 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 6 | 10 | 1 |
Oakland Pitcher(s) | Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Storm Davis (L) Gene Nelson (4th) Curt Young (6th) Eric Plunk (7th) Rick Honeycutt (8th) |
Orel Hershiser (W) - - - - |
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Oakland Home Runs | Los Angeles Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | Mike Marshall (3rd) |
Game 3 of the 1988 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1988 World Series Game 3 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Oakland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | Oakland Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
John Tudor Tim Leary (2nd) Alejandro Pena (6th) Jay Howell (L, 9th) |
Bob Welch Greg Cadaret (6th) Gene Nelson (6th) Rick Honeycutt (W, 8th) |
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Los Angeles Home Runs | Oakland Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | Mark McGwire (9th) |
Game 4 of the 1988 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1988 World Series Game 4 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Los Angeles | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
Oakland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | Oakland Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Tim Belcher (W) Jay Howell (S, 7th) - |
Dave Stewart (L) Greg Cadaret (7th) Dennis Eckersley (9th) |
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Los Angeles Home Runs | Oakland Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | None |
Game 5 of the 1988 World Series
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1988 World Series Game 5 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Los Angeles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Oakland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | Oakland Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Orel Hershiser (W) - - - - - |
Storm Davis (L) Greg Cadaret (5th) Gene Nelson (5th) Rick Honeycutt (8th) Eric Plunk (9th) Todd Burns (9th) |
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Los Angeles Home Runs | Oakland Home Runs | |||||||||||
Mickey Hatcher (1st) Mike Davis (4th) |
None - |
1988 World SeriesLos Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB | |
Dave Anderson Tim Belcher Mike Davis Rick Dempsey Kirk Gibson Jose Gonzalez Alfredo Griffin Jeff Hamilton Mickey Hatcher Danny Heep Orel Hershiser Brian Holton Jay Howell Tim Leary Mike Marshall Alejandro Pena Steve Sax Mike Scioscia John Shelby Franklin Stubbs John Tudor Tracy Woodson |
dh p dh-2,of-1 c ph of-3 ss 3b of of-1,dh-1 p p p p of p 2b c of 1b p 1b-3 |
1 2 4 2 1 4 5 5 5 3 2 1 2 2 5 2 5 4 5 5 1 4 |
1 0 7 5 1 2 16 19 19 8 3 0 0 0 13 0 20 14 18 17 0 4 |
0 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 7 2 3 0 0 0 3 0 6 3 4 5 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 3 0 1 0 2 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 |
0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 |
.000 .000 .143 .200 1.000 .000 .188 .105 .368 .250 1.000 .000 .000 .000 .231 .000 .300 .214 .222 .294 .000 .000 |
0 0 4 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 |
1 0 0 2 0 2 4 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 2 7 3 0 0 |
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 |
|
Totals | 167 | 41 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 19 | .246 | 13 | 36 | 4 | |||
1988 World SeriesOakland Athletics 1988 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB | |
Don Baylor Todd Burns Greg Cadaret Jose Canseco Storm Davis Dennis Eckersley Mike Gallego Ron Hassey Dave Henderson Rick Honeycutt Glenn Hubbard Stan Javier Carney Lansford Mark McGwire Gene Nelson Dave Parker Tony Phillips Eric Plunk Luis Polonia Terry Steinbach Dave Stewart Walt Weiss Bob Welch Curt Young |
ph p p of p p 2b c-4 of p 2b of-2 3b 1b p of-2,dh-2 2b-1,of-1 p of-2 c-2,dh-1 p ss p p |
1 1 3 5 2 2 1 5 5 3 4 3 5 5 3 4 2 2 3 3 2 5 1 1 |
1 0 0 19 1 0 0 8 20 0 12 4 18 17 0 15 4 0 9 11 3 16 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 6 0 3 2 3 1 0 3 1 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 |
0 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
.000 .000 .000 .053 .000 .000 .000 .250 .300 .000 .250 .500 .167 .059 .000 .200 .250 .000 .111 .364 .000 .063 .000 .000 |
0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 0 2 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
1 0 0 5 1 0 0 3 7 0 2 1 2 4 0 4 2 0 2 2 3 2 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 |
|
Totals | 158 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | .177 | 17 | 41 | 3 | |||
1988 World Series Composite Batting Statistics | Bold = World Series MVP |
1988 World SeriesLos Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
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Name | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Tim Belcher Orel Hershiser Brian Holton Jay Howell Tim Leary Alejandro Pena John Tudor |
1 2 0 0 0 1 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
2 2 1 2 2 2 1 |
2 2 0 0 0 0 1 |
0 2 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 |
8.2 18.0 2.0 2.2 6.2 5.0 1.1 |
6.23 1.00 0.00 3.38 1.35 0.00 0.00 |
10 7 0 3 6 2 0 |
10 17 0 2 4 7 1 |
6 2 0 1 1 0 0 |
6 6 1 1 2 1 0 |
Totals | 4 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 44.1 | 2.03 | 28 | 41 | 10 | 17 |
1988 World SeriesOakland Athletics 1988 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
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Name | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Todd Burns Greg Cadaret Storm Davis Dennis Eckersley Rick Honeycutt Gene Nelson Eric Plunk Dave Stewart Bob Welch Curt Young |
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 |
1 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 |
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0.1 2.0 8.0 1.2 3.1 6.1 1.2 14.1 5.0 1.0 |
0.00 0.00 11.25 10.80 0.00 1.42 0.00 3.14 1.80 0.00 |
0 2 14 2 0 4 0 12 6 1 |
0 3 7 2 5 3 3 5 8 0 |
0 0 10 2 0 1 0 5 1 0 |
0 0 1 1 0 3 0 5 3 0 |
Totals | 1 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.2 | 3.92 | 41 | 36 | 19 | 13 |
1988 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics | Bold = World Series MVP |
Did you know that Jose Canseco was the American League home run leader coming into the 1988 World Series and during Game 1 he hit his first career (including regular season) grand slam.
Mickey Hatcher had only one home run during the entire regular season, yet he set the tone for the Fall Classic in Game 1 with with a two-run left-center blast.
Orel Hershiser started two games, won both games, completed both (no relief), threw a shutout in one-of-the-two, and finished the series with a 1.00 earned run average — earning a well-deserved World Series Most Valuable Player Award.