1988 Oakland Athletics season

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 (the best record in the La Russa era). 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.

1988 Oakland Athletics
American League Champions American League West Champions
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
City	Oakland, California
Record	104–58 (.642)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Walter A. Haas Jr.
General managers	Sandy Alderson
Managers	Tony La Russa
Television	KPIX/KICU-TV (Monte Moore, Ray Fosse)
Radio	KSFO (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ray Fosse) KNTA (Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, Evilio Mendoza)
Seasons

1988 was the first of three straight years the A's would represent the AL in the World Series.

Offseason

• October 12, 1987: Brian Harper was released by the Athletics.
• October 12, 1987: Jerry Willard was released by the Athletics.
• December 6, 1987: Ron Hassey was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• December 7, 1987: Gary Lavelle was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• December 8, 1987: José Rijo and Tim Birtsas were traded by the Athletics to the Cincinnati Reds for Dave Parker.
• December 11, 1987: Alfredo Griffin and Jay Howell were traded by the Athletics to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Kevin Tapani and Wally Whitehurst were traded by the Athletics to the New York Mets as part of a three-team trade. Bob Welch and Matt Young were traded by the Dodgers to the Athletics. Jesse Orosco was traded by the Mets to the Dodgers. Jack Savage was traded by the Dodgers to the Mets.
• December 21, 1987: Dave Henderson was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• December 21, 1987: Rick Rodriguez was released by the Athletics.
• January 11, 1988: Glenn Hubbard was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• January 29, 1988: Rich Bordi was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• February 9, 1988: Don Baylor was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• March 9, 1988: Tony Phillips was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.
• March 28, 1988: Mickey Tettleton was released by the Athletics.

Regular season

José Canseco led the American League with 42 home runs, 124 RBIs and a .569 slugging percentage. Canseco became the first member of the Athletics to have three straight 100 RBI seasons. He also had 40 stolen bases and became the first major leaguer ever to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.

• July 3, 1988: José Canseco had 3 home runs and 6 RBIs in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Season standings

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	104	58	.642	—	54‍–‍27	50‍–‍31
Minnesota Twins	91	71	.562	13	47‍–‍34	44‍–‍37
Kansas City Royals	84	77	.522	19½	44‍–‍36	40‍–‍41
California Angels	75	87	.463	29	35‍–‍46	40‍–‍41
Chicago White Sox	71	90	.441	32½	40‍–‍41	31‍–‍49
Texas Rangers	70	91	.435	33½	38‍–‍43	32‍–‍48
Seattle Mariners	68	93	.422	35½	37‍–‍44	31‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

1988 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	4–9	5–7	4–7	4–9	5–8	0–12	4–9	3–9	3–10	4–8	7–5	6–6	5–8
Boston	9–4	—	8–4	7–5	8–5	6–7	6–6	10–3	7–5	9–4	3–9	6–6	8–4	2–11
California	7–5	4–8	—	9–4	8–4	5–7	5–8	3–9	4–9	6–6	4–9	6–7	8–5	6–6
Chicago	7–4	5–7	4–9	—	3–9	3–9	7–6	6–6	4–9	3–9	5–8	9–4	8–5	7–5
Cleveland	9–4	5–8	4–8	9–3	—	4–9	6–6	9–4	5–7	6–7	4–8	5–7	6–6	6–7
Detroit	8–5	7–6	7–5	9–3	9–4	—	8–4	5–8	1–11	8–5	4–8	9–3	8–4	5–8
Kansas City	12–0	6–6	8–5	6–7	6–6	4–8	—	3–9	7–6	6–6	8–5	7–5	7–6	4–8
Milwaukee	9–4	3–10	9–3	6–6	4–9	8–5	9–3	—	7–5	6–7	3–9	8–4	8–4	7–6
Minnesota	9–3	5–7	9–4	9–4	7–5	11–1	6–7	5–7	—	3–9	5–8	8–5	7–6	7–5
New York	10–3	4–9	6–6	9–3	7–6	5–8	6–6	7–6	9–3	—	6–6	5–7	5–6	6–7
Oakland	8–4	9–3	9–4	8–5	8–4	8–4	5–8	9–3	8–5	6–6	—	9–4	8–5	9–3
Seattle	5–7	6–6	7–6	4–9	7–5	3–9	5–7	4–8	5–8	7–5	4–9	—	6–7	5–7
Texas	6–6	4–8	5–8	5–8	6–6	4–8	6–7	4–8	6–7	6–5	5–8	7–6	—	6–6
Toronto	8–5	11–2	6–6	5–7	7–6	8–5	8–4	6–7	5–7	7–6	3–9	7–5	6–6	—

Notable Transactions

• June 1, 1988: Darren Lewis was drafted by the Athletics in the 18th round of the 1988 amateur draft. Player signed June 8, 1988.

Roster

1988 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 46 Rich Bordi 54 Todd Burns 32 Greg Cadaret 41 Jim Corsi 14 Storm Davis 43 Dennis Eckersley 40 Rick Honeycutt 19 Gene Nelson 53 Steve Ontiveros 38 Dave Otto 51 Eric Plunk 52 Jeff Shaver 34 Dave Stewart 35 Bob Welch 29 Curt Young		Catchers 24 Ron Hassey  3 Orlando Mercado 11 Matt Sinatro 36 Terry Steinbach Infielders 30 Lance Blankenship  9 Mike Gallego 17 Glenn Hubbard 27 Ed Jurak  4 Carney Lansford 25 Mark McGwire  2 Tony Phillips  7 Walt Weiss		Outfielders 33 José Canseco 42 Dave Henderson 28 Stan Javier 21 Doug Jennings  6 Félix José 39 Dave Parker 22 Luis Polonia Other batters 12 Don Baylor		Manager 10 Tony La Russa Coaches 18 Dave Duncan 15 Rene Lachemann  5 Jim Lefebvre  8 Dave McKay 45 Mike Paul 55 Bob Watson

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
RF	José Canseco	158	610	187	.307	42	124
CF	Dave Henderson	146	507	154	.304	24	94
3B	Carney Lansford	150	556	155	.279	7	57
1B	Mark McGwire	155	550	143	.260	32	99
C	Ron Hassey	107	323	83	.257	7	45
2B	Glenn Hubbard	105	294	75	.255	3	33
SS	Walt Weiss	147	452	113	.250	3	39
DH	Don Baylor	92	264	58	.220	7	34
LF	Luis Polonia	84	288	84	.292	2	27

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Stan Javier	125	397	102	.257	2	35
Dave Parker	101	377	97	.257	12	55
Terry Steinbach	104	351	93	.265	9	51
Mike Gallego	129	277	58	.209	2	20
Tony Phillips	79	212	43	.203	2	17
Doug Jennings	71	101	21	.208	1	15
Orlando Mercado	16	24	3	.125	1	1
Matt Sinatro	10	9	3	.333	0	5
Félix José	8	6	2	.333	0	1
Lance Blankenship	10	3	0	.000	0	0
Ed Jurak	3	1	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dave Stewart	37	37	275.2	21	12	3.23	192
Bob Welch	36	36	244.2	17	9	3.64	158
Storm Davis	33	33	201.2	16	7	3.70	127
Curt Young	26	26	156.1	11	8	4.14	69
Todd Burns	17	14	102.2	8	2	3.16	57
Steve Ontiveros	10	10	54.2	3	4	4.61	30
Rich Bordi	2	2	7.2	0	1	4.70	6

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dave Otto	3	10.0	0	0	1.80	7

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Dennis Eckersley	60	4	2	45	2.35	70
Greg Cadaret	58	5	2	3	2.89	64
Rick Honeycutt	55	3	2	7	3.50	47
Gene Nelson	54	9	6	3	3.06	67
Eric Plunk	49	7	2	5	3.00	79
Jim Corsi	11	0	1	0	3.80	10
Jeff Shaver	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

ALCS

Main article: 1988 American League Championship Series

Game 1

October 5, Fenway Park

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	6	0
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	0
W: Rick Honeycutt (1-0)   L: Bruce Hurst (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (1)
HR: OAK – José Canseco (1)

Game 2

October 6, Fenway Park

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	10	1
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	3	4	1
W: Gene Nelson (1-0)   L: Lee Smith (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (2)
HR: OAK – José Canseco (2)   BOS – Rich Gedman (1)

Game 3

October 8, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	6	12	0
Oakland	0	4	2	0	1	0	1	2	X	10	15	1
W: Gene Nelson (2-0)   L: Mike Boddicker (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (3)
HR: OAK – Mark McGwire (1)  Carney Lansford (1)  Ron Hassey (1)  Dave Henderson (1)  BOS – Mike Greenwell (1)

Game 4

October 9, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	0
Oakland	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	X	4	10	1
W: Dave Stewart (1-0)   L: Bruce Hurst (0-2)  S: Dennis Eckersley (4)
HR: OAK – José Canseco (3)

World Series

Main article: 1988 World Series

NL Los Angeles Dodgers (4) vs. AL Oakland Athletics (1)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	A's – 4, Dodgers – 5	October 15	Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)	55,983	3:04
2	A's – 0, Dodgers – 6	October 16	Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)	56,051	2:30
3	Dodgers – 1, A's – 2	October 18	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)	49,316	3:21
4	Dodgers – 4, A's – 3	October 19	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)	49,317	3:05
5	Dodgers – 5, A's – 2	October 20	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)	49,317	2:51

Awards and honors

• José Canseco – American League Leader Home Runs (42)
• José Canseco – American League Leader RBIs (124)
• José Canseco – American League Leader Slugging Percentage (.569)
• José Canseco - American League Silver Slugger Award (OF)
• Terry Steinbach - All-Star Game MVP
• Walt Weiss - American League Rookie of the Year
• Tony La Russa - American League Manager of the Year
• Dennis Eckersley - American League Saves Leader (45)

All-Star Game

• Terry Steinbach, catcher, starter
• Mark McGwire, first base, starter
• José Canseco, outfield, starter
• Dennis Eckersley, relief pitcher, reserve
• Carney Lansford, third base, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tacoma Tigers	Pacific Coast League	Brad Fischer
AA	Huntsville Stars	Southern League	Tommie Reynolds
A	Modesto A's	California League	Jeff Newman
A	Madison Muskies	Midwest League	Jim Nettles
A-Short Season	Southern Oregon A's	Northwest League	Lenn Sakata
Rookie	AZL Athletics	Arizona League	Dave Hudgens

References

• 1988 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1988 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.