1988 Oakland Athletics season

1988 Oakland Athletics
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)

The Oakland Athletics' 1988 season involved the A's winning 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 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.^[1]
October 12, 1987: Jerry Willard was released by the Athletics.^[2]
December 6, 1987: Ron Hassey was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[3]
December 7, 1987: Gary Lavelle was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[4]
December 8, 1987: José Rijo and Tim Birtsas were traded by the Athletics to the Cincinnati Reds for Dave Parker.^[5]
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.^[6]
December 21, 1987: Dave Henderson was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[7]
December 21, 1987: Rick Rodriguez was released by the Athletics.^[8]
January 11, 1988: Glenn Hubbard was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[9]
January 29, 1988: Rich Bordi was signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.^[10]
February 9, 1988: Don Baylor was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[11]
March 9, 1988: Tony Phillips was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.^[12]
March 28, 1988: Mickey Tettleton was released by the Athletics.^[13]

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

v
t
e
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 v t e 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.^[14]

Roster

1988 Oakland Athletics

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

12 Don Baylor

Manager

10 Tony La Russa

Coaches

Game log

Regular season Game log

1988 regular season game log: 104–58 (Home: 54–27; Away: 50–31)

April: 16–7 (Home: 5–4; Away: 11–3)

#	Date	Opponent	Score
1	April 4	Mariners
2	April 5	Mariners
3	April 6	Mariners
4	April 8	@ Angels
5	April 9	@ Angels
6	April 10	@ Angels
7	April 12	@ Mariners
8	April 13	@ Mariners
9	April 14	@ Mariners
10	April 15	White Sox
11	April 16	White Sox
12	April 17	White Sox
13	April 18	Angels
14	April 19	Angels
15	April 20	Angels
16	April 21	@ White Sox
17	April 22	@ White Sox
18	April 23	@ White Sox
19	April 24	@ White Sox
20	April 26	@ Blue Jays
21	April 27	@ Blue Jays
22	April 28	@ Blue Jays
—	April 29	@ Indians	Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 5)
23	April 30	@ Indians

May: 19–8 (Home: 11–4; Away: 8–4)

#	Date	Opponent	Score
24	May 1	@ Indians
25	May 2	@ Tigers
26	May 3	@ Tigers
27	May 4	Blue Jays
28	May 5	Blue Jays
—	May 6	Indians	Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 19)
29	May 7	Indians
30	May 8	Indians
31	May 9	Tigers
32	May 10	Tigers
33	May 11	Tigers
34	May 13	@ Orioles
35	May 14	@ Orioles
36	May 15	@ Orioles
37	May 16	@ Red Sox
38	May 17	@ Red Sox
39	May 18	@ Red Sox
40	May 20	@ Yankees
41	May 21	@ Yankees
42	May 22	@ Yankees
43	May 23	Orioles
44	May 24	Orioles
45	May 25	Orioles
46	May 27	Red Sox
47	May 28	Red Sox
48	May 29	Red Sox
49	May 30	Yankees
50	May 31	Yankees

June: 13–14 (Home: 6–8; Away: 7–6)

#	Date	Opponent
51	June 1	Yankees
52	June 3	@ Twins
53	June 4	@ Twins
54	June 5	@ Twins
55	June 6	@ Royals
56	June 7	@ Royals
57	June 8	@ Royals
58	June 9	@ Rangers
59	June 10	@ Rangers
60	June 11	@ Rangers
61	June 12	@ Rangers
62	June 14	Royals
63	June 15	Royals
64	June 16	Royals
65	June 17	Rangers
66	June 18	Rangers
67	June 19	Rangers
68	June 20	@ Brewers
69	June 21	@ Brewers
70	June 22	@ Brewers
71	June 24	Twins
72	June 25	Twins
73	June 26	Twins
74	June 26	Twins
75	June 27	Brewers
76	June 28	Brewers
77	June 29	Brewers

July: 16–12 (Home: 7–4; Away: 9–8)

#	Date	Opponent
78	July 1	@ Blue Jays
79	July 2	@ Blue Jays
80	July 3	@ Blue Jays
81	July 4	@ Indians
82	July 5	@ Indians
83	July 5	@ Indians
84	July 6	@ Indians
85	July 7	@ Tigers
86	July 8	@ Tigers
87	July 9	@ Tigers
88	July 10	@ Tigers
59th All-Star Game in Cincinnati, OH
89	July 14	Blue Jays
90	July 15	Blue Jays
91	July 16	Blue Jays
92	July 17	Blue Jays
93	July 18	Indians
94	July 19	Indians
95	July 19	Indians
96	July 20	Indians
97	July 22	Tigers
98	July 23	Tigers
99	July 24	Tigers
100	July 25	@ Angels
101	July 26	@ Angels
102	July 27	@ Angels
103	July 29	@ Mariners
104	July 30	@ Mariners
105	July 31	@ Mariners

August: 20–9 (Home: 14–3; Away: 6–6)

#	Date	Opponent
106	August 1	@ White Sox
107	August 2	@ White Sox
108	August 3	@ White Sox
109	August 4	Mariners
110	August 5	Mariners
111	August 6	Mariners
112	August 7	Mariners
113	August 8	White Sox
114	August 9	White Sox
115	August 10	White Sox
116	August 11	Angels
117	August 12	Angels
118	August 13	Angels
119	August 14	Angels
120	August 16	@ Orioles
121	August 17	@ Orioles
122	August 18	@ Orioles
123	August 19	@ Red Sox
124	August 20	@ Red Sox
125	August 21	@ Red Sox
126	August 22	@ Yankees
127	August 23	@ Yankees
128	August 24	@ Yankees
129	August 26	Orioles
130	August 27	Orioles
131	August 28	Orioles
132	August 29	Red Sox
133	August 30	Red Sox
134	August 31	Red Sox

September: 19–7 (Home: 10–3; Away: 9–4)

#	Date	Opponent
135	September 2	Yankees
136	September 3	Yankees
137	September 4	Yankees
138	September 5	@ Rangers
139	September 6	@ Rangers
140	September 7	@ Rangers
141	September 8	@ Royals
142	September 9	@ Royals
143	September 10	@ Royals
144	September 11	@ Royals
145	September 13	Rangers
146	September 14	Rangers
147	September 15	Rangers
148	September 16	Royals
149	September 17	Royals
150	September 18	Royals
151	September 19	Twins
152	September 20	Twins
153	September 21	Twins
154	September 23	@ Brewers
155	September 24	@ Brewers
156	September 25	@ Brewers
157	September 27	@ Twins
158	September 28	@ Twins
159	September 29	@ Twins
160	September 30	Brewers

October: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–0)

#	Date	Time (PT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
161	October 1		Brewers
162	October 2		Brewers

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Athletics team member

Postseason Game log

1988 Postseason game log: 5–4 (Home: 3–2; Away: 2–2)

AL Championship Series: vs. Boston Red Sox 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 2–0)

#	Date	Opponent
1	October 5	@ Red Sox
2	October 6	@ Red Sox
3	October 8	Red Sox
4	October 9	Red Sox

World Series: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 1–4 (Home: 1–2; Away: 0–2)

#	Date	Opponent
1	October 15	@ Dodgers
2	October 16	@ Dodgers
3	October 18	Dodgers
4	October 19	Dodgers
5	October 20	Dodgers

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Athletics team member

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

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

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

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

^ "Brian Harper Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Jerry Willard Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Ron Hassey Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Gary Lavelle Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Dave Parker Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Jesse Orosco Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Dave Henderson Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Rick Rodriguez Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Glenn Hubbard Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Rich Bordi Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Don Baylor Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Tony Phillips Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Mickey Tettleton Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
^ "Darren Lewis Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

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.

[1] "Brian Harper Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[2] "Jerry Willard Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[3] "Ron Hassey Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[4] "Gary Lavelle Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[5] "Dave Parker Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[6] "Jesse Orosco Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[7] "Dave Henderson Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[8] "Rick Rodriguez Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[9] "Glenn Hubbard Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[10] "Rich Bordi Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[11] "Don Baylor Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[12] "Tony Phillips Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[13] "Mickey Tettleton Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

[14] "Darren Lewis Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.

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