1988 Major League Baseball season

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.

1988 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 4 – October 20, 1988
Draft
Top draft pickAndy Benes
Picked bySan Diego Padres
Regular season
Season MVPNL: Kirk Gibson (LA)
AL: José Canseco (OAK)
League postseason
AL championsOakland Athletics
  AL runners-upBoston Red Sox
NL championsLos Angeles Dodgers
  NL runners-upNew York Mets
World Series
ChampionsLos Angeles Dodgers
  Runners-upOakland Athletics
Finals MVPOrel Hershiser (LA)

Overview

A ticket from the game where Goose Gossage earned his 300th career save on August 6, 1988.

One of the American League's best players in 1988 was Athletics outfielder José Canseco, who became the first player in history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season, unanimously garnering league MVP honors. The A's surrounded him with a stellar supporting cast, led by fellow slugger Mark McGwire (with whom Canseco formed the famed "Bash Brothers" duo). Aided by strong pitching from Dave Stewart and Bob Welch and the lights-out Eckersley securing 45 saves, Oakland ran away with the American League West and swept the Boston Red Sox of Boggs, Rice, and Clemens in the playoffs before falling to the Dodgers in the World Series.

Speaking of the Dodgers, nobody expected them to even contend for the National League West title in 1988, let alone win the World Championship. However, the intensity and clutch hitting

of Gibson (named the NL MVP at season's end) and the solid pitching of Orel Hershiser (who won a league-leading 23 games) spearheaded L.A. to a division championship by seven games over the Cincinnati Reds. In addition to his 23 victories, Hershiser led the National League with 267 innings pitched and 8 shutouts, and also set a record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings (formerly held by Dodger great Don Drysdale). These accomplishments, combined with his 2.26 ERA, earned him the National League Cy Young Award. However, it was in the post-season that Hershiser really distinguished himself – he started Games 1 and 3 of the NLCS against the tough New York Mets, saved Game 4 in relief, and threw a complete game shutout in Game 7. He hurled another complete game shutout in Game 2 of the World Series and again went the distance in the clinching Game 5. Hershiser was named MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series, capping off arguably one of the greatest seasons a starting pitcher has ever had.

Awards and honors

MLB statistical leaders

Statistic American League National League
AVGWade Boggs BOS.366Tony Gwynn SD.313
HRJosé Canseco OAK42Darryl Strawberry NYM39
RBIJosé Canseco OAK124Will Clark SF109
WinsFrank Viola MIN24Orel Hershiser LA
Danny Jackson CIN
23
ERAAllan Anderson MIN
Teddy Higuera MIL
2.45Joe Magrane STL2.18
SORoger Clemens BOS291Nolan Ryan HOU228
SVDennis Eckersley OAK45John Franco CIN39
SBRickey Henderson NYY93Vince Coleman STL81

Major league baseball final standings

Postseason

Major League Baseball

  League Championship Series ABC World Series NBC
                 
East Boston 0  
West Oakland 4  
    AL Oakland 1
  NL Los Angeles 4
East NY Mets 3
West Los Angeles 4  

Managers

American League

TeamManagerNotes
Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken, Sr., Frank Robinson
Boston Red Sox John McNamara, Joe Morgan
California Angels Cookie Rojas, Moose Stubing
Chicago White Sox Jim Fregosi
Cleveland Indians Doc Edwards
Detroit Tigers Sparky Anderson
Kansas City Royals John Wathan
Milwaukee Brewers Tom Trebelhorn
Minnesota Twins Tom Kelly
New York Yankees Billy Martin, Lou Piniella
Oakland Athletics Tony La Russa Won American League Pennant
Seattle Mariners Dick Williams, Jim Snyder
Texas Rangers Bobby Valentine
Toronto Blue Jays Jimy Williams

National League

TeamManagerNotes
Atlanta Braves Chuck Tanner, Russ Nixon
Chicago Cubs Don Zimmer
Cincinnati Reds Pete Rose, Tommy Helms
Houston Astros Hal Lanier
Los Angeles Dodgers Tommy Lasorda Won World Series
Montreal Expos Buck Rodgers
New York Mets Davey Johnson
Philadelphia Phillies Lee Elia, John Vukovich
Pittsburgh Pirates Jim Leyland
St. Louis Cardinals Whitey Herzog
San Diego Padres Larry Bowa, Jack McKeon
San Francisco Giants Roger Craig

Television coverage

NetworkDay of weekAnnouncers
ABC Monday nights Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Gary Bender, Joe Morgan, Reggie Jackson
NBC Saturday afternoons Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Bob Costas, Tony Kubek

Events

Movies

Deaths

  • February 20 – Bob O'Farrell, 91, catcher for four NL teams over 21 seasons who won 1926 MVP award with the Cardinals
  • February 23 – Pete Donohue, 87, pitcher who had three 20-win seasons for the Reds and beat the Phillies 20 consecutive times from 1922–25
  • February 28 – Harvey Kuenn, 57, 8-time All-Star shortstop and outfielder, most notably with the Tigers, who batted .303 lifetime and led AL in hits four times and doubles three times; 1953 Rookie of the Year and 1959 batting champion, later managed Brewers to their first pennant in 1982
  • March 21 – Edd Roush, 94, Hall of Fame center fielder for the Cincinnati Reds who batted .323 lifetime; led NL in batting twice, and in slugging, doubles and triples once each; hit 30 inside-the-park home runs, and ended career with 13th-most triples in history
  • March 29 – Ted Kluszewski, 63, All-Star first baseman for the Reds who led NL in homers and RBI in 1954 and batted .300 seven times, known for his sleeveless jersey; later a Reds coach
  • June 9 – Newt Allen, 87, All-Star second baseman for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs
  • July 4 – Lee Weyer, 51, National League umpire since 1963 who worked in four World Series and 5 NL Championship Series
  • July 20 – John W. Galbreath, 90, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1945 to 1985, during which period the team won three World Series
  • September 2 – Jim Bagby, Jr., 71, All-Star pitcher for the Red Sox and Indians, led AL in starts and innings in 1943
  • September 16 – Bob Trice, 62, first black player in Philadelphia Athletics history
  • October 14 – Vic Raschi, 69, All-Star pitcher who won 20 games for the Yankees three straight years (1949–51), won World Series clinchers in 1949 and 1951
  • November 21 – Carl Hubbell, 85, Hall of Fame pitcher who won 253 games for the New York Giants, second most among NL left-handers upon retirement; named NL's MVP in 1933 and 1936, he led league in wins and ERA three times each and had 1.79 ERA in six World Series starts; 1677 strikeouts were NL record for left-handers until 1958, and won 24 straight games in 1936–37
  • November 22 – Ray Kelly, 74, sportswriter who covered the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies since the late 1940s
  • November 30 – Wally Berger, 83, All-Star center fielder for the Boston Braves who had four 100-RBI seasons, batted .300 lifetime; led NL in homers and RBI in 1935
  • December 12 – Joe Reichler, 73, sportswriter and author who wrote for the Associated Press for 20 years and served as an assistant to the commissioner after 1966; editor of the Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia since its first edition in 1969
  • December 21 – Willie Kamm, 88, third baseman for the White Sox and Indians who led AL in fielding average eight times and in putouts seven times; batted .308 in 1928 and led league in walks in 1925
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References

  1. Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781553650386..
  2. Firstman, Diane. "Most Runs, Hits with Only Certain Types of Hits". valueoverreplacementgrit.com. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  3. "A Billion-Dollar Bid By CBS Wins Rights To Baseball Games". The New York Times. December 15, 1988.
  4. Downey, Kevin (April 18, 2002). "Waning days of big $ TV sports". Media Life. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015.
  5. "Baseball to CBS; NBC Strikes Out : ABC Also Falls Short as 4-Year Package Goes for $1 Billion". The Los Angeles Times. December 15, 1988.
  6. Shames, Laurence (July 23, 1989). "CBS HAS WON THE WORLD SERIES......NOW IT COULD LOSE ITS SHIRT". The New York Times.
  7. Erardi, Luckhaupt, John, Joel. The Wire-to-Wire Reds: Sweet Lou, Nasty Boys, and the Wild Run to a World ... p. 40.
  8. Ernest Cashmore. And There Was Television. p. 146.
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