The series is best known for the Game 1 pinch-hit walk-off home run by star Dodgers outfielder Kirk Gibson, who did not start because of injuries to both legs yet hit the winning homer against Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley. Although Gibson's homer has become an iconic World Series moment, it was World Series MVPOrel Hershiser who capped a dominant 1988 season in which he set the all time scoreless inning streak at 59 innings, recorded five straight shutouts, led the league with 23 wins and 267 innings, and won the Cy Young and Gold Glove awards. Hershiser was the NL Championship Series MVP, starting three games, getting the save for Game4, and shutting out the Mets in Game7. In the World Series, he shut out the A's in Game2, and pitched a two-run, complete game in the decisive Game5 victory.
The Dodgers were the only MLB team to win more than one World Series title in the 1980s, as they had previously won the championship in 1981. Their victory also broke a 10-year streak in which 10 different major league ballclubs won a World Series with no repeat winners.[1] They would not win another World Series until 2020.
The Dodgers' team batting did not finish in the top five in any offensive statistical category except batting average (fifth), at .248—no regular or backup hit over .300 or drove in over 90 runs. Kirk Gibson's 25 home runs led the team but was only good enough for seventh in the National League. Slugger Pedro Guerrero had a sub-par year and was traded in July to the Cardinals for starting pitcher John Tudor. Kirk Gibson was the only Dodgers position player named to the All-Star Game, but declined the invitation.[2]
However, the Dodgers were sixth in the NL in runs scored and backed that up with excellent pitching. Despite trading All-Star pitcher Bob Welch (to Oakland, ironically) prior to spring training and an injury to Fernando Valenzuela (5–8, 4.24 ERA), the Dodgers were second in the NL in team ERA and runs allowed, and led the league in complete games and shutouts. The staff was anchored by Cy Young Award-winner Orel Hershiser, who led league in wins, won-loss percentage (23–8, .864), complete games (15), shutouts (8), and sacrifice hits (19).
Hershiser was backed-up by a pair of Tims, Tim Leary (17–11, 2.91) and rookie Tim Belcher (12–6, 2.91), and the July acquisition of John Tudor further strengthened the staff. The bullpen was outstanding, headed by Jay Howell (21 saves, 2.08), Alejandro Peña (12 saves, 1.91), Brian Holton, and longtime New York Mets closer Jesse Orosco. The Dodger bullpen led the league in saves with 49.
It was intensity and fortitude, however, that defined the 1988 Dodgers, a trend that began when Kirk Gibson was signed as a free agent over the winter from the Detroit Tigers, the team he helped lead to the 1984 World Championship. Moreover, the invincible Hershiser threw shutouts in five of his last six regular season starts en route to a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched, breaking the mark held by former Dodger great Don Drysdale. Hershiser would dominate the Mets in the NLCS, while Gibson hobbled through on bad knees and a bruised hamstring but would produce a memorable, if not the greatest, at-bat (in Game1) of the World Series. Coincidentally, this was the second time the Dodgers had a no-hitter or a perfect game thrown against them in a season ending with a world championship. In 1981, Nolan Ryan tossed his record-breaking fifth no hitter (breaking the mark of four set by Ex-Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax) against a Dodger team that won the World Series. While in 1988, Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds threw a perfect game which was also against a Los Angeles team that won it all.
The powerful Oakland Athletics had all the confidence and swagger of a heavily favored team. The "Bash Brothers" duo of Mark McGwire (32 home runs, 99 RBI, .260 batting average) and José Canseco (42 home runs, 124 RBI, .307 batting average) were in their early 20s, emerging as young superstars. Canseco became the first player to hit 40 or more home runs and steal 40 or more bases in Major League history and would capture the Most Valuable Player award in the American League. Veterans Dave Henderson (24 home runs, 94 RBI, .304 batting average) and longtime PirateDave Parker (12 home runs, 55 RBI, .257 batting average), also contributed with both their bats and their experience. The 1988 World Series marked Don Baylor's third consecutive World Series with three separate teams. Besides being a member of the 1988 Athletics, Baylor was also a member of the 1986 Boston Red Sox and 1987 Minnesota Twins.
The Oakland pitching staff was quite possibly the best in the American League in 1988. They led in ERA (3.44), wins (104), saves (64), and were second in strikeouts (983) and second in fewest runs allowed and home runs allowed. The ace of the staff was Dave Stewart, an ex-Dodger (1978–83), who won 20 games for the second straight season. Another ex-Dodger was reliable Bob Welch (17–9, 3.64) followed by 16-game winner Storm Davis. After spending the previous 12 years as a starter, mostly for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, Dennis Eckersley would be converted into a closer in 1987 and would lead the American League in saves in 1988 with 45. He would eventually have a distinguished 24-year career, gaining election into the Hall of Fame in 2004. Another longtime starter (and another ex-Dodger), Rick Honeycutt, proved to be a capable set-up man to Eckersley, finishing with three wins and seven saves.
With Kirk Gibson unable to start and officially listed as day-to-day due to a pulled left hamstring and a severely swollen right knee, sustained on awkward slides into second base in the NLCS in Games 5 and 7, the Dodgers were at a disadvantage. Additionally, because ace Orel Hershiser pitched in Game7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers started rookie Tim Belcher in Game1, and would be unable to start Hershiser three times in a potential seven-game series as they had in the NLCS. Meanwhile, Oakland, having swept the ALCS, sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have their troubles in this game. Belcher loaded the bases in the first by giving up a single to Dave Henderson, hitting José Canseco, and walking Mark McGwire. Canseco was hit in the right biceps as he checked his swing and home plate umpire Doug Harvey awarded him first base. Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda disputed this, thinking the ball hit Canseco's bat. Audio from the game seemed to confirm this, but replays showed the ball hit Canseco in the biceps.[8]
Stewart's problems began in the bottom of the first when he purposely hit Steve Sax with his first pitch. After retiring Franklin Stubbs, Stewart balked Sax to second. Mickey Hatcher, Gibson's replacement who had hit only one homer all season, shocked the crowd by hitting a two-run shot off Stewart. Hatcher further excited the Dodger Stadium fans by running full speed around the bases. Commentator Joe Garagiola noted, "He ran in like they thought they were going to take it off the scoreboard! He really circled those bases in a hurry!" and "He's a Saturday Evening Post cover!"[8]
Stewart calmed down and the A's provided him a lead in their half of the second. After allowing a leadoff single to Glenn Hubbard and striking out Walt Weiss, Belcher's control problems continued as he walked both Stewart and Carney Lansford to load the bases. After Dave Henderson struck out, Canseco crushed a 1–0 pitch for a grand slam to almost dead center, denting an NBC game camera in the process and giving the A's a 4–2 lead. Canseco's grand slam in Game1 was his only hit of the series. His fellow Bash Brother Mark McGwire had only one hit as well: the game-winning shot that ended Game3.
With one out in the sixth, the Dodgers broke Stewart's groove with three consecutive singles by Mike Marshall, John Shelby, and Mike Scioscia; Marshall scored. Stewart retired the next two batters to end the inning and strand Shelby in scoring position, but the Dodgers had cut the A's lead to 4–3.
Unknown to the fans and media at the time, Kirk Gibson was watching the game on television while undergoing physical therapy in the Dodger clubhouse.[9] At some point during the game, television cameras scanned the Dodger dugout and commentator Vin Scully, working for NBC for the 1988 postseason, observed that Gibson was "nowhere to be found".[9] This spurred Gibson to call for Mitch Poole, the team ball boy, to set up the tee for him to take some warmup swings. After a few swings, Gibson told Poole to go get Lasorda for an evaluation; Lasorda presently appeared. Shortly thereafter, Gibson was seen in the dugout wearing his batting helmet.[10] Along the way, NBC's Bob Costas could hear Gibson's agonized-sounding grunts after every hit.[11]
A's closer Dennis Eckersley came on to pitch the ninth to close it out for Stewart. After retiring the first two batters (Mike Scioscia and Jeff Hamilton), Eckersley's former A's teammate Mike Davis, batting for Alfredo Griffin, walked on five pitches. During Davis' at-bat, Dave Anderson initially entered the on-deck circle to hit for Alejandro Peña. Eckersley pitched carefully to Davis because the A's remembered the home runs he hit for the A's a year earlier, not—as popularly believed—because the light-hitting Anderson was on deck.[12][13] After Davis walked, Lasorda called back Anderson and sent a hobbled Kirk Gibson to the plate, amid cheers from the Dodger Stadium crowd. Gibson bravely fouled off Eckersley's best offerings, demonstrating how badly he was hurting. On one foul, Gibson hobbled towards first and prompted Scully to quip, "And it had to be an effort to run THAT far." After Gibson fouled off several pitches, Davis stole second on ball three. On the next pitch, the eighth of the at-bat, Gibson slammed a backdoor slider into the right-field bleachers to win the game. The footage of Gibson hobbling around the bases on both hurt legs and pumping his fist as he rounded second became an iconic baseball film highlight.
Gibson would never bat again in the Series, and his walk-off homer in Game1 marked the first World Series game ended with a come-from-behind home run. In a somewhat forgotten detail highlighting the teamwork that was this Dodgers team's trademark, Gibson's heroics would not have been possible without the earlier home run by the man who replaced Gibson in the lineup, Mickey Hatcher.
By the time Kirk Gibson reached his locker after Game1, bullpen coach Mark Cresse had written "R. HOBBS" on a piece of paper and taped it over Gibson's nameplate, alluding to the walkoff homer by the fictional slugger played by Robert Redford in The Natural. Indeed, the next night, NBC replayed the home run, intercutting it with film and music of the Hobbs home run from the movie.
Game 1 is the only game in World Series history in which a grand slam-hitting team failed to both win the game and the series. (In 1956, the Yankees hit a grand slam and lost Game 2 but prevailed in the series.)
Gibson became the second player to record a walk-off hit with two outs and his team trailing in the bottom of the ninth inning of a World Series game, following Cookie Lavagetto in the 1947 World Series. Only one other player, Brett Phillips in the 2020 World Series, has since accomplished this feat. This was the last Game 1 walk-off home run until 2023.
Game 2
Sunday, October 16, 1988 5:25pm (PT) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California 69°F (21°C), mostly clear
With a rested Orel Hershiser on the mound, the Dodgers took a 2–0 Series lead. Hershiser went the distance, allowing only three singles, all three hit by Dave Parker. The Dodgers got to Oakland starter Storm Davis with a five-run third. After one-out singles by Hershiser and Steve Sax, consecutive RBI singles by Franklin Stubbs and Mickey Hatcher made it 2–0 Dodgers before Mike Marshall capped the scoring with a three-run home run. Hershiser himself got an RBI when Alfredo Griffin singled in the fourth and scored on his double. Hershiser was the first pitcher to get three hits in a World Series game since Art Nehf of the New York Giants in Game 1 of the 1924 World Series.[14] He was also the first pitcher to record a World Series RBI since Philadelphia's John Denny in Game 4 of the 1983 World Series.[15]
The Athletics got back in the series on the strength of strong pitching by former Dodger World Series hero Bob Welch and three relievers. Dodger starter John Tudor left during the second inning with tightness in his pitching shoulder and was relieved by Tim Leary who pitched the next 3+2⁄3 innings and Alejandro Peña who pitched an additional three innings.
Oakland struck first in the third when Glenn Hubbard singled, stole second, and came home on a single by Ron Hassey. The Dodgers tied it in the fifth when Franklin Stubbs drove home Jeff Hamilton with a double.
Oakland relievers helped squelch a Dodger threat in the sixth. Danny Heep led off with a double. John Shelby singled to left, but Heep was held up at third on the throw home as Shelby took second. Welch walked Mike Davis to load the bases, and left-hander Greg Cadaret was brought in to face lefty-hitting Mike Scioscia. Scioscia popped out to third. Oakland manager Tony La Russa then brought in right-hander Gene Nelson to face Hamilton, who forced Heep out at home. Alfredo Griffin grounded out to end the threat.
Reliever Rick Honeycutt held the Dodgers scoreless in two inning over work. The Athletics got their winning run in the bottom of the ninth when Mark McGwire deposited a one-out fastball from closer Jay Howell, who had struggled in the NLCS and also was suspended for illegally using pine tar, into the left-center field seats.
Game 4
Wednesday, October 19, 1988 5:25pm (PT) at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California 66°F (19°C), clear
Without injured sluggers Kirk Gibson (25 HR) and Mike Marshall (20), the Dodgers started the game with what was statistically one of the weakest hitting World Series teams since the Dead-ball era. During the regular season the Game 4 starting line up of Steve Sax (2B), Franklin Stubbs (1B), Mickey Hatcher (LF), Mike Davis (RF), John Shelby (CF), Danny Heep (DH), Jeff Hamilton (3B), Mike Scioscia (C) and Alfredo Griffin (SS) combined for a total of just 36 home runs. Only one player had even ten home runs of the group (Shelby). Between them, José Canseco and Mark McGwire had hit 74 home runs for Oakland. Canseco alone had in fact hit more home runs (42) than the Dodger lineup while McGwire with 32 almost matched the Dodgers.
The Dodgers got two runs in the first when Steve Sax walked, went to third on a Mickey Hatcher single, and scored on a passed ball by Athletics catcher Terry Steinbach. Hatcher scored the second run on a groundout by John Shelby. Oakland got one back in their half when Luis Polonia led off with a single, went to second on a passed ball, and later scored on a José Canseco groundout.
Los Angeles went up 3–1 when Franklin Stubbs doubled and scored when Oakland shortstop Walt Weiss couldn't field a liner by Mike Davis (the play was ruled an error.) The Athletics answered in the sixth on an RBI single by Carney Lansford.
A key play came when the Dodgers got their final run in the seventh. With Alfredo Griffin on third and Steve Sax on first with one out, pinch-hitter Tracy Woodson hit what looked to be an inning ending double play grounder. But Lasorda called for a hit and run play so Sax was going on the pitch. Oakland tried for the double play, but Sax barely beat the throw to second. So when the throw to first beat Woodson, it was only the second out, allowing Griffin to score.
The Oakland half of the seventh was also dramatic. With one out, Weiss singled and reached second when he was called safe on a double-play grounder hit by Polonia in a similar play to the Dodgers' scoring play in the top half of the inning; Weiss was running with the pitch. Dave Henderson cut the Dodger lead to 4–3 on a two-out RBI double. After Dodgers reliever Jay Howell entered the game, José Canseco walked and Dave Parker reached on a Griffin error to load the bases, but Game3 hero Mark McGwire popped out, stranding three and ending the inning.
The Athletics managed to get singles in the eighth by Ron Hassey and in the ninth by Henderson, but Howell rebounded from his earlier postseason woes to stop both rallies, including striking out Canseco and inducing a foul pop out by Dave Parker in the ninth to strand the tying run at first and end the game. The Dodgers now held a commanding three games to one lead.
While hosting Game 4 on NBC, Bob Costas angered many members of the Dodgers (especially manager Tommy Lasorda) by commenting before the start of the game that the Dodgers quite possibly were about to put up the weakest-hitting lineup in World Series history.[16] That comment ironically fired up the competitive spirit of the Dodgers. Later (while being interviewed by NBC's Marv Albert), after the Dodgers had won Game 4, Lasorda sarcastically suggested that the MVP of the 1988 World Series should be Bob Costas.
Game 5
Thursday, October 20, 1988 5:39pm (PT) at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California 66°F (19°C), clear
Orel Hershiser capped one of the greatest seasons ever by a starting pitcher and one of the most improbable World Series wins in history by pitching a complete game, allowing only four hits, two runs, and striking out nine. Stan Javier had both RBIs with a single and a sac fly.
In addition to Hershiser's performance, the Dodgers won because Mickey Hatcher stepped in for the hobbled Kirk Gibson in left field and provided spark, enthusiasm, and unexpected offense. He blasted his second home run in the Series off Oakland starter Storm Davis, a two-run shot, in the first inning; he had hit only one home run in the entire 1988 regular season.
Mike Davis, a disappointing free-agent signing for most of the 1988 season, added a two-run blast (on a 3-0 count) in the fourth off Davis, and former World Series MVP Rick Dempsey, filling in for an injured Mike Scioscia, drove in Davis with an RBI double in the sixth.
The only drama of the game briefly arose in the 8th inning: after Javier's single brought the lead to 5–2, Hershiser walked Dave Henderson to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of 42-homer man José Canseco. Hershiser got him to pop out, and struck out Dave Parker to end the threat. He struck out Tony Phillips for the final out to give the Dodgers their first World Championship since 1981.
Oakland came into the World Series heavily favored, but the Dodgers out-hit (41–28, .246–.177), out-muscled (5 HRs–2 HRs), and out-pitched (2.03–3.92) the seemingly unbeatable Oakland Athletics, improbably winning the Series in five games, outscoring the A's, 21–11, bringing the Dodgers their sixth World Series Championship, the second as a manager for Tommy Lasorda. The Dodger pitching tamed Oakland monsters José Canseco (one hit, his grand slam in Game1) and Mark McGwire (one hit and one RBI, which came on his Game 3 walk-off home run) for the entire series.
With the Lakers winning their fifth NBA championship in nine years four months before, the Dodgers winning the World Series made Los Angeles the first city to have both NBA and World Series champions in the same year.[17] This accomplishment would be repeated in 2020, with the same two teams winning their respectivechampionships again.[18]
The 1988 World Series marked the last time that NBC[20] would televise a World Series for seven years. Beginning in 1990, NBC would be shut out of Major League Baseball coverage completely, after CBS signed a four-year, exclusive television contract. After splitting coverage of the 1995 World Series with ABC, NBC would next cover a World Series exclusively in 1997 and again in 1999. Beginning the following year, the fall classic would air exclusively on Fox (they had previously broadcast the 1996 and 1998 editions) where it has remained ever since.
Longtime Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully called the Series for NBC along with Joe Garagiola; this was the last World Series that Scully would call on television (although he would subsequently call several more on CBS Radio). It was also the final World Series broadcast on either medium, and the final NBC telecast, for Garagiola. When the network returned from a commercial break at the start of the bottom of the ninth inning of Game1, Scully stated (as NBC's cameras were panning the Dodgers' dugout) that Gibson (who wasn't in the dugout at the time) wouldn't play for sure. According to Gibson, who was watching the telecast in the Dodgers' clubhouse as the game started, Scully's comments in large part influenced his decision to want to bat.[21]
As previously mentioned, Bob Costas, who along with Marv Albert, hosted NBC's World Series pregame coverage and handled postgame interviews made on-air statements that enraged many in the Dodgers' clubhouse (especially manager Tommy Lasorda). Costas said that the 1988 Dodgers possibly had the weakest hitting line-up in World Series history. After the Dodgers won Game4, Lasorda (during a postgame interview with Marv Albert) sarcastically said that the MVP of the World Series should be Bob Costas.
On the radio side, Jack Buck and Bill White provided commentary for CBS Radio. This was Buck's sixth World Series call for CBS Radio and White's fifth. Game 5 was the final baseball broadcast for White, who had been calling games (primarily for the New York Yankees) since 1971; shortly after the Series ended he replaced Bart Giamatti as president of the National League.
The Series was also broadcast by the teams' local flagship radio stations using their own announcers. In the San Francisco Bay Area, KSFO aired the games with Bill King and Lon Simmons announcing, while in Los Angeles, KABC aired the games with Ross Porter (substituting for Scully) and Don Drysdale announcing.
WMGT intrusion
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2021)
During the second inning of Game 1, NBC affiliate WMGT-TV in Macon, Georgia, had its on-air feed hijacked by an unidentified technician who formerly worked for the station's video department. The video feed of the second inning was replaced by an unidentified black-and-white pornographic movie for ten seconds (which likely came from a subscription channel), while audio of Vin Scully was still presented throughout the incident.[22][23][24] Following the investigation which led with authorities, the unidentified technician from WMGT was immediately fired from the station. The station's production manager, L.A. Sturdivant, released a statement explaining that the broadcast intrusion was triggered by accident rather than deliberately planned, and was being "treated as a serious matter".[25]
After three days of investigation following the station's wiring at the control panel being rewired, Sturdivant replied that the fired technician may've accidentally flipped the wrong switch, which caused the World Series broadcast to switch from NBC's KU-Band signal over to the C-Band satellite signal that carried the X-rated material. During the final stages of investigating, local officials later put forth other theories that may led into the hijack such as a videotape having been brought into the studio and watched by the technician or deliberate sabotage from an outside prankster that would've explain the alternate case of the incident, but Sturdivant disagreed on its alternate theories.[26]
This would also be the last World Series to feature each leagues regular season Most Valuable Player until 2012.
Following this confrontation, both teams appeared on Family Feud with Ray Combs for a special sweeps week billed as a World Series Rematch.
1988 A's reliever Rick Honeycutt would later serve as the Dodgers pitching coach for 13 years (2006-2019). Honeycutt's 14 years as the Dodgers pitching coach (under four different managers) tied Ron Perranoski for the longest tenure in that role in the organization's history.[27]
The Dodgers would not make another World Series appearance until 2017,[28] where they would lose in seven games against the Houston Astros, who won their first World Series title. The Dodgers would make another World Series appearance the following year in 2018, but lost to the Boston Red Sox in five games, marking the first time the Dodgers lost back-to-back World Series since 1977 and 1978, where they lost both World Series to the New York Yankees. They would not win another World Series until 2020.
Before the start of the 2018 season, the Dodgers commemorated the anniversary of Gibson's homerun with the introduction of the “Kirk Gibson seat,” which is where his home run landed after winning Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. The seat in question was Section 302, Row D, Seat 1, though the Dodgers have renumbered that seat 88. The seat would be painted blue and signed by Gibson and the tickets cost $300, which includes a $200 donation to the Kirk Gibson Foundation to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s Research.[29]
In Game 4 of the 2018 World Series between the Dodgers and the Red Sox, 30 years after that 1988 World Series walk-off home run, Dennis Eckersley (who was there covering the Red Sox as a NESN color commentator and analyst) and Kirk Gibson reunited for the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium and Gibson had a bat ready before catching Eckersley's pitch.[30] In Game 3 of that series, Max Muncy would hit the Dodgers first walk-off World Series home run since Gibson's in 1988 of Game 1.
The Dodgers World Series capped off a spectacular decade of sports for the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles hosted the aforementioned mentioned 1984 Summer Olympics, its first since hosting the 1932 Summer Olympics. In terms of team sports, the Showtime Lakers won five NBA championships in the decade (including one in 1988), the Raiders moved from Oakland to Los Angeles and won the city's first Super Bowl, and the Los Angeles Kings traded for Wayne Gretzky in August 1988, who was even at that time considered the greatest hockey player ever. For their part, the Dodgers were the only team to win more than one World Series in the 1980s.[31] The next Los Angeles championship did not come until the 2000 Lakers. 32 years later in 2020, the Dodgers and Lakers would again win a World Series and NBA Finals in the same season.
This would be the final World Series Vin Scully called on either television or radio that featured the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scully would call World Series games on CBS radio until 1997. The next time the Dodgers advanced to the World Series (2017), Charley Steiner was now the radio play-by-play announcer and went on to call Los Angeles's victory over Tampa Bay in 2020 (Scully had retired from broadcasting after the 2016 season).
Freddie Freeman's grand slam off the New York Yankees' Nestor Cortés Jr. to win Game 1 of the 2024 World Series for the Dodgers—the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history—was widely compared to Gibson's home run. Like Gibson, Freeman was playing through injury (a badly sprained ankle in Freeman's case), and both players also came to bat with the Dodgers trailing by a run and down to their last out in Game 1 of the World Series.[32] Broadcaster Joe Davis' call on Fox's national broadcast of "...she is gone!" echoed Scully's call for the Gibson homer, and Davis also added, "Gibby, meet Freddie!" Both Gibson's and Freeman's home runs were to right field at Dodger Stadium, in almost the same spot, and both came at 8:37p.m. Pacific Time.[33][34][35] Finally, just like 1988, the Dodgers would end up winning the series in 5 games.[36]
Quotes
And look who's coming up.
—Vin Scully on NBC-TV as Kirk Gibson comes up to bat in game 1
High Fly ball into right field... SHE IS GONE!!
—Scully calling Gibson's home run on NBC-TV, and Joe Davis when Freddie Freeman did the same thing in the this year 2024 game 1
In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!
—Scully's comments after Gibson's home run
We have a big 3-2 pitch coming here from Eckersley. Gibson swings, and a fly ball to deep right field! THIS IS GONNA BE A HOME RUN!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! A HOME RUN FOR GIBSON!! And the Dodgers have won the game, 5 to 4! I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!! I don't believe what I just saw!! Is this really happening, Bill?...One of the most remarkable finishes to any World Series game: a one-handed home run by Kirk Gibson!...I have seen a lot of dramatic finishes in a lot of sports, but this one might top almost every other one!
José Canseco Capas Jr. is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his time with the Oakland Athletics, he established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the game. He won the Rookie of the Year (1986), and Most Valuable Player award (1988), and was a six-time All-Star. Canseco is a two-time World Series champion with the Oakland Athletics (1989) and the New York Yankees (2000).
Donald Scott Drysdale, nicknamed "Big D", was an American professional baseball pitcher and broadcaster who played in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire 14-year career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. Known for being a fierce competitor, Drysdale won the Cy Young Award in 1962 and was a three-time World Series champion during his playing career.
Kirk Harold Gibson is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. Gibson spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, but also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted and threw left-handed.
Stanley Julián Antonio Javier [hah-ve-ERR] is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 to 2001. A switch-hitter with good production from both sides of the plate, he also had a strong arm with the ability to play all three outfield positions exceptionally well. Javier is the son of former major league player Julián Javier, and was named after his father's teammate and close friend, Stan Musial.
The 1990 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1990 season. The 87th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the defending champions and heavily favored American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the National League (NL) champion Cincinnati Reds. The Reds defeated the Athletics in a four-game sweep. It was the fifth four-game sweep by the NL and second by the Reds after they did it in 1976. It was the second consecutive World Series to end in a sweep, after the Athletics themselves did it to the San Francisco Giants in 1989. It is remembered for Billy Hatcher's seven consecutive hits. The sweep extended the Reds' World Series winning streak to nine games, dating back to 1975. This also was the second World Series meeting between the two clubs. To date, this remains both teams' most recent appearance in the World Series.
The 1977 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1977 season. The 74th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers four games to two to win the franchise's 21st World Series championship, their first since 1962, and the first under the ownership of George Steinbrenner. Played from October 11 to 18, the Series was televised on ABC.
The 1974 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1974 season. The 71st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Athletics won the series, four games to one; after splitting the first two in Los Angeles, Oakland swept their three home games to close it out.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1988 throughout the world.
The 1988National League Championship Series was a best-of seven playoff series in Major League Baseball’s 1988 postseason played between the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League East champion New York Mets. The Dodgers won the Series four games to three, en route to defeating the Oakland Athletics in five games in the 1988 World Series.
Michael Dwayne Davis is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1989 for the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was selected by the Athletics in the third round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft and signed as a free agent with the Dodgers before the 1988 season. He is most remembered as the Dodger who earned a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, stole second base, and ultimately scored on Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run that won the game. The Dodgers would go on to win the series, four games to one.
The 1985 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff series in Major League Baseball’s 1985 postseason played between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers from October 9–16. It was the 17th NLCS and the first played under the new best-of-seven format. In previous years, the NLCS had been settled by a best-of-five format. This series is best known for Ozzie Smith's dramatic walk-off home run in Game 5. This is the second consecutive NLCS where a team overcame a 2–0 series deficit to win the series after the Padres did so in the best-of-five 1984 NLCS.
The 1988 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven semifinal series in Major League Baseball's 1988 postseason that pitted the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. It was the second meeting between the two in ALCS play. The Athletics swept the Series four games to none and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series.
The 1988 Major League Baseball season ended with the underdog Los Angeles Dodgers shocking the Oakland Athletics, who had won 104 games during the regular season, in the World Series. The most memorable moment of the series came in Game 1, when injured Dodger Kirk Gibson hit a dramatic pinch-hit walk-off home run off Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley to win the game for Los Angeles. The Dodgers went on to win the Series in five games.
The Oakland Athletics' 1992 season was the team's 25th in Oakland, California. It was also the 92nd season in franchise history. The team finished first in the American League West with a record of 96–66.
The Oakland Athletics' 1990 season was their 23rd season in Oakland, California and the 90th in franchise history. The team finished first in the American League West with a record of 103 wins 59 losses.
The 1988 Oakland Athletics season was the 88th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 21st season in Oakland. The Athletics won their first American League West title since 1981, with a record of 104 wins and 58 losses. In 1988, the elephant was restored as the symbol of the Athletics and currently adorns the left sleeve of home and road uniforms. The elephant was retired as team mascot in 1963 by then-owner Charles O. Finley in favor of a Missouri mule. The A's defeated the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, but lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games, including a dramatic, classic walk-off home run by the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson in game one.
The 1988 season was a memorable one for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a squad that was picked to finish fourth wound up winning the World Series, beating the heavily favored New York Mets and Oakland Athletics along the way. Kirk Gibson carried the Dodger offense, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Orel Hershiser dominated on the mound, throwing a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings on his way to winning the Cy Young Award.
Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run was a baseball play that occurred in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, on October 15, 1988, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Gibson was initially held out of the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup with injuries to both legs, but after being called upon to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, he hit a two-run, walk-off home run against Oakland Athletics pitcher Dennis Eckersley. The home run won the game for the Dodgers by a score of 5–4.
During the 1988 Major League Baseball season, pitcher Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers set the MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Over 59 consecutive innings, opposing hitters did not score a run against Hershiser. During the streak, he averted numerous high-risk scoring situations. The streak spanned from the sixth inning of an August 30 game against the Montreal Expos to the 10th inning of a September 28 game against the San Diego Padres. The previous record of 58+2⁄3 innings was set by former Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale in 1968; as the team's radio announcer, Drysdale called Hershiser's streak as he pursued the new record. Pundits have described the streak as among the greatest records in baseball history, with one pundit ranking it among the greatest individual feats in American sports.
The 1988 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1988 season. The winners of each division advance to the postseason and face each other in a League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
References
Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M. (1990). The World Series (1sted.). New York: St Martins. pp.425–429.
Forman, Sean L. "1988 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com – Major League Statistics and Information. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
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