1988 Oakland Athletics
1988 AL West Champions 1988 AL Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (since 1968)
Oakland, California (since 1968)
Results
Record	104–58 (.642)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter A. Haas, Jr.
General manager(s)	Sandy Alderson
Manager(s)	Tony LaRussa
Local television	KPIX/KICU-TV (Monte Moore, Ray Fosse)
Local radio	KSFO (Bill King, Lon Simmons, Ray Fosse) KNTA (Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, Evilio Mendoza)
< Previous season     Next season  >

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. 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 3 straight years the A's would represent the AL in the World Series

Offseason[edit]

• 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[edit]

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.

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

Season standings[edit]

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	104	58	0.642	—	54–27	50–31
Minnesota Twins	91	71	0.562	13	47–34	44–37
Kansas City Royals	84	77	0.522	19½	44–36	40–41
California Angels	75	87	0.463	29	35–46	40–41
Chicago White Sox	71	90	0.441	32½	40–41	31–49
Texas Rangers	70	91	0.435	33½	38–43	32–48
Seattle Mariners	68	93	0.422	35½	37–44	31–49

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1988 American League Records 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[edit]

• 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[edit]

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 -- Mike Paul -- Bob Watson

Player stats[edit]

= Indicates team leader

Batting[edit]

Starters by position[edit]

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[edit]

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Stan Javier	125	397	102	.257	2	35
Dave Parker	101	377	97	.257	12	55

Pitching[edit]

Starting pitchers[edit]

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Bob Welch	36	244.2	17	9	3.64	158

Other pitchers[edit]

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers[edit]

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

ALCS[edit]

Game 1[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

• José Canseco – American League Leader Home Runs (42)
• José Canseco – American League Leader RBIs (124)
• José Canseco – American League Leader Slugging Percentage (.569)
• Terry Steinbach, All-Star Game MVP

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[edit]

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
Short-Season A	Southern Oregon A's	Northwest League	Lenn Sakata
Rookie	AZL Athletics	Arizona League	Dave Hudgens

References[edit]

1. ^ Brian Harper page at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Jerry Willard page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ Ron Hassey page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Gary Lavelle page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Dave Parker page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Jesse Orosco page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Dave Henderson page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Rick Rodriguez page at Baseball Reference
9. ^ Glenn Hubbard page at Baseball Reference
10. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bordiri01.shtml
11. ^ Don Baylor page at Baseball Reference
12. ^ Tony Phillips page at Baseball Reference
13. ^ Mickey Tettleton page at Baseball Reference
14. ^ Darren Lewis page at Baseball Reference

• 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, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3. 

American League champions 1901: Chicago White Stockings 1902: Philadelphia Athletics 1903: Boston Americans  1904: Boston Americans  1905: Philadelphia Athletics  1906: Chicago White Sox  1907: Detroit Tigers  1908: Detroit Tigers  1909: Detroit Tigers  1910: Philadelphia Athletics  1911: Philadelphia Athletics  1912: Boston Red Sox  1913: Philaelphia Athletics  1914: Philadelphia Athletics  1915: Boston Red Sox  1916: Boston Red Sox  1917: Chicago White Sox  1918: Boston Red Sox  1919: Chicago White Sox  1920: Cleveland Indians  1921: New York Yankees  1922: New York Yankees  1923: New York Yankees  1924: Washington Senators  1925: Washington Senators  1926: New York Yankees  1927: New York Yankees  1928: New York Yankees  1929: Philadelphia Athletics  1930: Philadelphia Athletics  1931: Philadelphia Athletics  1932: New York Yankees  1933: Washington Senators  1934: Detroit Tigers  1935: Detroit Tigers  1936: New York Yankees  1937: New York Yankees 1938: New York Yankees 1939: New York Yankees  1940: Detroit Tigers  1941: New York Yankees 1942: New York Yankees  1943: New York Yankees 1944: St. Louis Browns  1945: Detroit Tigers  1946: Boston Red Sox  1947: New York Yankees  1948: Cleveland Indians  1949: New York Yankees  1950: New York Yankees  1951: New York Yankees 1952: New York Yankees 1953: New York Yankees  1954: Cleveland Indians  1955: New York Yankees  1956: New York Yankees  1957: New York Yankees  1958: New York Yankees  1959: Chicago White Sox  1960: New York Yankees  1961: New York Yankees  1962: New York Yankees  1963: New York Yankees  1964: New York Yankees  1965: Minnesota Twins  1966: Baltimore Orioles  1967: Boston Red Sox 1968: Detroit Tigers 1969: Baltimore Orioles  1970: Baltimore Orioles  1971: Baltimore Orioles 1972: Oakland Athletics  1973: Oakland Athletics  1974: Oakland Athletics  1975: Boston Red Sox  1976: New York Yankees 1977: New York Yankees  1978: New York Yankees  1979: Baltimore Orioles  1980: Kansas City Royals  1981: New York Yankees 1982: Milwaukee Brewers  1983: Baltimore Orioles  1984: Detroit Tigers  1985: Kansas City Royals  1986: Boston Red Sox 1987: Minnesota Twins  1988: Oakland Athletics  1989: Oakland Athletics  1990: Oakland Athletics  1991: Minnesota Twins 1992: Toronto Blue Jays  1993: Toronto Blue Jays  1994: No champion 1995: Cleveland Indians  1996: New York Yankees 1997: Cleveland Indians  1998: New York Yankees  1999: New York Yankees  2000: New York Yankees  2001: New York Yankees  2002: Anaheim Angels  2003: New York Yankees  2004: Boston Red Sox  2005: Chicago White Sox  2006: Detroit Tigers  2007: Boston Red Sox  2008: Tampa Bay Rays  2009: New York Yankees  2010: Texas Rangers  2011: Texas Rangers  2012: Detroit Tigers  2013: Boston Red Sox  2014: Kansas City Royals  2015: Kansas City Royals

American League West champions 1969: Minnesota Twins  1970: Minnesota Twins  1971: Oakland Athletics 1972: Oakland Athletics  1973: Oakland Athletics  1974: Oakland Athletics  1975: Oakland Athletics  1976: Kansas City Royals 1977: Kansas City Royals  1978: Kansas City Royals  1979: California Angels  1980: Kansas City Royals  1981: Oakland Athletics 1982: California Angels  1983: Chicago White Sox  1984: Kansas City Royals  1985: Kansas City Royals  1986: California Angels 1987: Minnesota Twins  1988: Oakland Athletics  1989: Oakland Athletics  1990: Oakland Athletics  1991: Minnesota Twins 1992: Oakland Athletics  1993: Chicago White Sox  1994: No champion 1995: Seattle Mariners  1996: Texas Rangers 1997: Seattle Mariners  1998: Texas Rangers  1999: Texas Rangers  2000: Oakland Athletics  2001: Seattle Mariners  2002: Oakland Athletics  2003: Oakland Athletics  2004: Anaheim Angels  2005: Los Angeles Angels  2006: Oakland Athletics  2007: Los Angeles Angels  2008: Los Angeles Angels  2009: Los Angeles Angels  2010: Texas Rangers  2011: Texas Rangers  2012: Oakland Athletics  2013: Oakland Athletics  2014: Los Angeles Angels  2015: Texas Rangers

1988 MLB season by team AL East Baltimore Boston Cleveland Detroit Milwaukee New York Toronto AL West California Chicago Kansas City Minnesota Oakland Seattle Texas NL East Chicago Montréal New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis NL West Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco 1988 All-Star Game 1988 World Series

Oakland Athletics Formerly the Philadelphia Athletics and the Kansas City Athletics Based in Oakland, California (Bay Area) The Franchise History in Philadelphia History in Oakland Seasons Records No-hitters Players Owners and executives Managers Broadcasters Award winners and league leaders First-round draft picks Opening Day starting pitchers Ballparks Columbia Park Shibe Park Municipal Stadium Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Spring Training Barrs Field Terry Park Ballfield Wilmington Park McCurdy Field Connie Mack Field McKechnie Field Rendezvous Park Scottsdale Stadium I Phoenix Municipal Stadium Hohokam Stadium Culture Philadelphia Athletics (football) Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame Charlie-O Stomper $100,000 Infield "Holy Toledo!" Billyball "Celebration" (song) Cisco Field Moneyball book film Lore The Mack Attack Catfish Hunter's perfect game Bash Brothers 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake The Streak Dallas Braden's perfect game 2014 AL Wild Card Game Rivalries Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants Key personnel Owners: John J. Fisher & Lewis Wolff President: Michael Crowley Executive vice president: Billy Beane General manager: David Forst Manager: Bob Melvin Important figures Hall of Fame members Home Run Baker Chief Bender Mickey Cochrane Eddie Collins Dennis Eckersley Rollie Fingers Jimmie Foxx Lefty Grove Rickey Henderson Catfish Hunter Reggie Jackson Nap Lajoie Connie Mack Eddie Plank Al Simmons Rube Waddell Dick Williams Wall of Fame members Sam Chapman Jack Coombs Jimmy Dykes George Earnshaw Ferris Fain Bob Johnson Eddie Joost Bing Miller Wally Moses Rube Oldring Bobby Shantz Eddie Rommel Elmer Valo Rube Walberg Gus Zernial World Series Champions (9) 1910 1911 1913 1929 1930 1972 1973 1974 1989 American League Championships (15) 1902 1905 1910 1911 1913 1914 1929 1930 1931 1972 1973 1974 1988 1989 1990 AL West Division Championships (16) 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1981 1988 1989 1990 1992 2000 2002 2003 2006 2012 2013 AL Wild Card (2) 2001 2014 Minors AAA Nashville Sounds AA Midland RockHounds A Stockton Ports Beloit Snappers Vermont Lake Monsters Rookie Arizona League Athletics DSL Athletics   Seasons (116) 1900s 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016